Director Sofia Coppola creates a fascinating, oftentimes surreal dreamscape with Priscillain which moments from Priscilla Presley’s early life float in and fade away. Some of them are detailed, others brief. Collectively, these scenes are significant and paint a fascinating and compelling portrait of Presley’s life with Elvis from the intimate interior of her experiences. There’s Elvis the famous performer — King of Rock and all that flash. Then there’s Elvis the man. In the middle of it all is Priscilla Presley. Coppola, who also penned the screenplay, delivers a lush if not sobering biopic about a woman waiting to emerge into her full power.
By now, Priscilla has taken over the internet. Believe the buzz. Cailee Spaeny is mesmerizing as Priscilla Beaulieu, who meets Elvis Presley at the age of 14 and is soon swept into his glittery yet unpredictable world. Jacob Elordi is commanding as the King. The actors fully lose themselves in their roles. But take note: If you appreciated the punch of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Coppola offers a more grounded approach in this film, which is based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir (with Sandra Harmon), Elvis and Me. Priscilla is a sobering biopic, and you can feel a lingering ache throughout. But there’s plenty of soul underneath it, making the film downright exceptional and worthy of our time.
All Shook Up
Sofia Coppola met with Priscilla Presley as this project got underway, and you can tell the director did her research. Scenes are beautifully lifted from Presley’s memoir and clearly, whatever the two women discussed in private informed how this movie was made. It feels as much an homage as a story about a young woman finding her inner resolve.
The film opens with 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu meeting Elvis Presley at a party, where the singer — and Priscilla’s stepfather — was stationed for military service in 1959. Elvis was a superstar at this point. This initial “arranged meet-cute” sets the tone for how things will flow for Priscilla the young woman. Elvis is charming. Priscilla is taken in. Despite their age difference — Elvis was 24 when the two met — it’s evident there’s some spark there. The two bond over their individual isolations, pining to be back in America.
Eyebrows will raise during the film’s first hour. Is Elvis grooming Priscilla? Coppola doesn’t really suggest that, leaving it up to the audience to decide who he was as a man underneath the dazzling image. And as told through Priscilla’s eyes, we find ourselves in a kind fairy tale love story, in which a princess is swept away by a handsome prince — one that respects personal boundaries and never forces himself intimately on Priscilla.
When Priscilla’s parents (Dagmara Dominczyk and Ari Cohen) allow her to move to Graceland and finish school, Priscilla is taken into Elvis’ world — his touring band, his precious grandmother, and the lot. They all take a cinematic backseat here as the focus remains on Priscilla and her point of view. It makes for a compelling story and Coppola, as she’s done in previous films like Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette, creates a character audiences will care about and root for.
Solid Acting Elevates the Story
SofiaCoppola’s keen eye, attention to detail, and ability to offer so much more by doing less is effective (and so un-Baz Luhrmann). Priscilla is mesmerizing. There are more than a handful of scenes where not much is said, but rather expressed through Priscilla’s eyes, her facial expressions, her body language. Spaeny evokes a perfect mix of sweetness, naiveté, and finally, determination, making the Priscilla we experience here a full human being. It’s a powerhouse performance, filled with incredible nuance. Spaeny, who won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, surely will receive other award nominations for her portrayal.
Jacob Elordi continues to prove himself as a viable performer and a commanding actor who can steal a scene without doing all that much, as he’s a side player here in Priscilla’s story. The Euphoria star has Elvis down — to the bone. Everything from the voice, the facial expressions, even the ticks. The Elvis we see here fidgets with his hands, and his leg shakes while he’s seated. This Elvis also erupts into occasional fits of anger. He’s controlling. He needs a woman who understands his life; somebody who won’t give him much of a fuss. Priscilla agrees initially. Captivating all around. Audiences will quickly overlook the fact that Elordi, who’s six-foot, five-inches tall, was five inches taller than Elvis. At times, it’s distracting.
If you’re hoping to hear Elvis music here, it’s not going to happen. There are several brief moments in the beginning of the film, and later, during one of Elvis’ acclaimed television special. They burst through the creative door, if you will, then disappear. It’s par for the course of what Coppola set out to do, which is show Priscilla’s perspective.
Early on, we see Elvis offering Priscilla some of his sleeping pills and other medication. Ominous foreshadowing at its best. But audiences aren’t taken through the decades here. We’re not catapulted into Elvis’s much-reported drug problem later in life. We do experience the birth of Lisa Marie Presley and her younger years as Priscilla moves through motherhood. Meanwhile, her marriage continues to erode.
Priscilla Presley serves as an executive producer and has publicly embraced the movie. Recent reports that the late Lisa Marie Presley was dissatisfied with one version of Coppola’s script recently surfaced, and it will no doubt further fan the flames of interest for this movie. Bottom line: Priscilla is an instant classic. The acting is superior. The directing and the story a triumph. The 1950s/1960s era is wonderfully captured. The hair and makeup dazzle. This is a film “experience," offering a sobering yet heartfelt look into the Elvis universe in a way audiences have never experienced before.
From A24, Priscilla is currently playing in theaters.
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