General Information:
Directed by – Sofia Coppola
Written by – Sofia Coppola
Starring – Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla Presley), Jacob Elordi (Elivs Presley), Ari Cohen (Captain Beaulieu), Dagmara Dominczyk (Ann Beaulieu), and Luke Humphrey (Terry West)
Synopsis – Based on the memoir “Elvis and Me”, ‘Priscilla’ follows the life and love of Priscilla Presley, from meeting Elvis across the sea in Germany to moving into Graceland and starting a life with the rock ‘n roll sensation.
Review:
I did not know that the early 2020s was going to be the Elvis Presley renaissance. In back to back years we have gotten two critically acclaimed films focusing on the Presley name. In 2022, we saw Austin Butler star as the King of Rock ‘n Roll in his breakout and Oscar nominated performance in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’. This year, instead of watching another biopic of the man himself, Sofia Coppola dove into the story behind his partner, Priscilla Presley. Based on her memoir, ‘Priscilla’ goes behind the curtain on the controversial relationship between the superstar and this everyday girl, showing us how everything is not always as it appears to be.
We are introduced to our characters right off the bat as Terry West (Luke Humphrey) invites a 14-year-old Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) to a party at Elvis Presley’s (Jacob Elordi) house, as both of them are stationed in Germany. The two are instantly drawn to each other and begin a relationship despite their 10 year age gap. Elvis then eventually convinces Priscilla’s parents to spend her senior year in Graceland living with him and continuing their relationship together. While at Graceland, the once dreamy relationship is hit with a hard reality as there are a lot of rules and regulations when it comes to dating The King. When isolation and infidelity rumors begin to take a toll on Priscilla, her rose-colored glasses that have been clouding her relationship begin to dim.
The absolute standout of the film is Spaeny as Priscilla. This is a movie that is dedicated to telling the life of Priscilla Presley and no one could have captured her essence throughout the majority of her life like Spaeny can. The relation between the Presleys takes place over the course of Priscilla’s formative years, starting from when she was a freshman in high school and going until her late 20s when she eventually decides to leave Elvis. Spaeny plays Priscilla during this entire time frame. Spaeny has this innocent presence about her performance during the first half of the film when Priscilla was in high school that it does not feel like someone in their mid-20s is playing the part. Instead of casting a younger actress, we are able to follow the same actress throughout all of the years the film takes place. There is a clear difference in her performance form when she first meets Elvis – soothing and admiration for her new love – until the last years of their relationship when she is trying to break free of his grasp. This stark difference and maturity in her performance is what makes her perfect for this role.
This is Priscilla’s story but we still need to include Elvis to really know what their relationship was like. Elordi steps into the role of The King, but with the Elvis-centered biopic so close in people’s memories, there have been a lot of comparisons between Elordi’s Elvis and Butler’s Elvis. To me, I do not think we should be comparing them; yes, they are playing the same person, but each film is presenting his story in a different way that trying to look at both in the same light cannot be done. This film is presenting Elvis in more of his life behind the scenes while he was not off performing for audiences in concert. There is a darker tone to Elvis than we saw in Luhrmann’s film, but that does not take away from what Elordi was able to do. His performance captivates you from the beginning, displaying his charisma in the early years of their relationship, but as soon as he gets Priscilla to Graceland, we see a controlling figure begin to take over. The person Terry West introduced to Priscilla, and us as the audience, is not the same man we know by the end of the film. Elordi takes his transformation to the next level; there are moments of genuine fear when he is on screen because you are not sure how he is going to react to a situation. Elvis was not a perfect person for many reasons and ‘Priscilla’ was not afraid to show us those darker sides. Elordi gives us many layers to the person that was Elvis, the perfect way to portray him for this film.
One of the major things that stood out to me about this film that truly made one of the biggest impacts on the story was the makeup, hairstyling and costuming. Makeup and hairstyling, done by Jo-Ann MacNeil and Cliona Furey respectively, were the contributors to helping Spaeny become the various ages we see Priscilla as. Her style contributes to that too thanks to the costume designer Stacey Battat. When the film begins and we are introduced to Priscilla as a teenager, she is dressed very prim and proper with very simple hair and makeup. As her relationship with Elvis begins to take over her life, we see her style and hair change with her. Gone is her schoolgirl looks as we are introduced to bigger hair, bolder makeup and glamorous clothing. While it all seems nice at first, we begin to see how it is things like the way she presents herself is so heavily controlled by Elvis and his estate. She does everything he wishes and yet she is still so alone. When Priscilla begins to take more control of her life towards the end of their relationship, we see her regain control of her style. Priscilla ventures away from the trap of Elvis by wearing colors and dresses that he used to forbid her from dressing in. her makeup and hair also become more simple that better match her personality. Makeup and costuming is the easiest way to help relay someone’s age or journey they have been on and ‘Priscilla’ does this perfectly. There is a distinct difference between all of the major milestones we see from Priscilla that we get from how she is styled. It seems like such a simple observation but if done wrong could halt the story you are trying to tell.
Another technical aspect that stands out is the way the film is shot. In the beginning, it feels like we are in a dream that Priscilla is having. With the light colors and rose-colored tint, we are right there feeling how she is feeling. This is new love, with a celebrity nonetheless, and everything seems picture perfect. Then as we start to really learn the darkness behind their relationship, that dreamy feeling fades away to a more dark-looking film. We go from this childlike sense of whimsy and wonder to the bleak and sadness that hides underneath. Those dark undertones come to the forefront when Priscilla’s relationship continuously gets worse with Elvis. The cinematography was a great way to subtly display her feelings that you are trying to be conveyed to your audience.
Some may try to use this film as someone trying to attack a famous and well-liked man after he has been long gone. In no way is this film trying to downplay the impact Elvis had on the music world. This film is a focus on Priscilla and her life while she knew Elvis. It was not as glamorous and fabulous as dating a powerful celebrity might seem like. It took a lot out of her physically and mentally and that is what this film is supposed to be about. How she was with Elvis and how that impacted her life was the driving force of the story. Of course, some criticism will come for Elvis, as he was the one who pursued someone ten years his junior, but in her memoir the real Priscilla talks about how she did have love for Elvis. It is now time to tell her story and have it be heard from a director known for enhancing women’s voices.
