Priscilla film review

I went to the cinema with my friend Kathy to see this and it was interesting to see her take as well as my own as she hasn't seen the other Elvis film, and I have.

IMDB says: When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend. Through Priscilla's eyes Sofia tells the unseen side of the great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla's long courtship and turbulent marriage from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy and fame.

In this Sofia Coppola (The Godfather Part III, Lost in Translation) directed movie, written by Priscilla Presley, Sandra Harmon and Sofia Coppola, starring Cailee Spaeny (Bad Times at the El Royale, On the Basis of Sex) as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, Euphoria) as Elvis.

Being from Priscilla's perspective rather than Colonel Parker/Elvis, this is a very different depiction of events and the man himself. Elordi has an almost played-down version of the man, in terms of accent and volume in most of the film (my friend struggled to hear some of his dialogue), which makes the parts where he turns into the "other side" of Elvis all the more powerful. Spaeny is a force in the role as she manages to draw you into her story in a way that has you mentally shouting at her to get out long before she marries the man, let alone when she is in the thick of it with a small child depending on her. For me, a couple of sections of dialogue highlight this perfectly:

Priscilla: Was there something you're hiding?

Elvis: I don't have a goddamn thing to hide! You're just being too goddamn aggressive!

and

Elvis: Have I lost you to another man?

Priscilla: You're losing me to a life of my own.

This led to a discussion between my friend and I after the film where we agreed that even if Elvis was been coercively controlled by Parker, that made it all the more disgusting that he was doing the exact same thing to an underage girl and adding physical and emotional control on top of financial. No wonder Coppola had to get around the music and actual footage from the time (see below*).

Coppola has infused the film with colour and brightness in parts where you could see how the young girl could so easily become fooled by the façade he was portraying and delicious darkness in others to highlight how out of control and dangerous her life had become (particularly the bedroom scene which goes from playful to violent out of nowhere just because he feels she is 'winning'). And the attention to detail in the sets, hair, make up etc. is definitely worthy of the many nominations the film is receiving.

This movie takes you on the young girl's journey to finding her way out of a situation she was too young and unprotected to see coming and it will make you mentally cheer when she does eventually stand up to him and leaves.

4.5/5 

Awards: 3 wins and 27 nominations including nominees for the Critic's Choice Award for Best Hair and Make up, Golden Globes Best Performance by a female actor in a motion picture drama for Spaeny and People's Choice Awards The Drama Movie Star of the Year for Elordi.

*Trivia: Elvis Presley Enterprises declined both their approval for the film and their permission to use Elvis Presley's song in the film. Coppola then took to creative alternatives, including contemporary music by her husband's band, Phoenix, and cover versions of songs from the film's era.

Goofs: The food pyramid is mentioned while Priscilla was in school in Germany. The first food pyramid was not published until 1974.

•