Priscilla

Wow, this was an uncomfortable movie to watch. Priscilla invites inevitable comparisons to last year's "Elvis," portraying an exact opposite narrative. Helmed by the talented Sophia Coppola, who commands great respect, and featuring Jacob Elordi, an actor I admire, the film falls short of expectations. Unfortunately, it presents a one-dimensional, flat perspective that left me somewhat disappointed.

While the performances are strong, and the direction commendable, Priscilla's narrative feels tedious and slow at times. The harrowing depiction of power imbalances in the central relationship adds a layer of discomfort that makes the film hard to watch. Sophia Coppola's artistic choices unveil a side of the characters that, while impactful, renders the viewing experience challenging. Priscilla sheds light on the vulnerability of a young protagonist, emphasizing the discomfort of witnessing a story where she is just a child.

The movie fails to provide a closer look at the real Priscilla -- most of the movie's portrayal is already known to the world-wide Elvis audiences. Worse is that it portrays Elvis in such a negative light -- again, much of which; the drug addiction and its obvious ills, the audience already knows. The actors did what they could to this uninspiring script, especially Elordi but it was really the visuals that were, if anything, at all interesting and beautiful. That said, I could not get past the height difference between the key actors which was an obvious mismatch nor a more in-depth understanding of the main character herself. As I drove home from the theatre I just kept asking myself, "But...why? Why make this movie?" What good comes from it? For me, the portrayal did no good to Priscilla necessarily; as mentioned it taught little of her; her parents or their parenting, it lacked an emotional fullness to the real life story of this romance (if you will), and other than the bedroom scenes, very little of Priscilla's thinking, the relationship of Elvis and she. Lastly, and importantly, it does little good to the real-life extended Presley family, not to mention, the legacy of Elvis.

Before Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie passed away earlier this year, she was quite contemptuous over Sofia Coppola's portrayal of her parents in her biographical feature Priscilla. Based on Priscilla Presley's 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, the film has nonetheless garnered mostly positive reviews and even earned Cailee Spaeny the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Given that Priscilla herself was an executive producer on this project, it's best to look at this project at a more earnest portrayal of Elvis and Priscilla instead of it being romanticized or sugar coated.

Now as this film depicts the courtship between a then 14 year old Priscilla and a then 24 year old Elvis, the biggest takeaway from this feature is that it's supposed to comment more on the idea of love being difficult to obtain as the wife of a global superstar. While it does depict a taboo romantic subject in mind, it becomes far more toxic when Elvis proves to be far more manipulative and abusive than his rockstar persona claims otherwise. Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi share quite a conflicting bond as their depictions show a more disturbing underbelly to what the public thought of the Presleys otherwise. Coppola makes sure to emphasize the unfortunate implications behind their relationship without directly endorsing it, especially as we can see how much the spousal torment and jadedness behind the life of fame creates more misery in Priscilla than to the people worried for her like her parents and socialites. Behind all the rock & roll, glamour and pizazz lies a hollow marriage where one is no longer illusioned to much of anything, be it romance or appreciation for the music.

That being said, outside of the disturbing implications behind Priscilla and Elvis' courtship, there really isn't much else to take away from the movie. By putting so much of Priscilla's perspective into the limelight, the portrayal of her husband isn't interesting enough to dissect beyond him being a fake charming guy who more so likes the idea of a soul mate instead of actually being with one consistently. It doesn't help that the film rushes certain plot points just to get to Presley's life of prestige, such as Priscilla's time with her rightfully concerned family, her trouble focusing in school and even the implied drug addictions she and her husband faced. Despite that latter key point playing a big role in Elvis' abusive behavior, it isn't explored enough to leave much of a dramatic impact. In fact, for a film that tries to incorporate themes of domestic abuse, it feels surprisingly lacking in showing much of that tension. Also, once the film ends, it feels as if it missed the opportunity to go more into Priscilla's life after leaving Elvis for good, almost as if it felt it didn't need to tell more when it should have.

Outside of those qualities, the filmmaking is competent enough yet never rises above decently well crafted in depicting the era of subject. The cultural aesthetic of the late 50s and early to mid 60s feels more tact on for the sake of the time period, as outside of some of the road shows and projects Elvis is apart of, only the costuming sticks out the most, and yet the film hardly does much with them to make much of an impression. If anything, the pop cultural influence from this era feels more like an accompaniment to the story than really playing much of a role beyond the media playing up Elvis' life as more than it really is. Also, the lack of much of a background score surprisingly doesn't work as most of the scenes play out with an awkward tension that would have benefited from more than just what's on the soundtrack. Speaking of which, for some reason there are all kinds of retro and contemporary rock and jazz songs except from the king himself. Perhaps given the involvement of Priscilla Presley and her ex-husband's enterprises, this comes off as understandable yet confusing.

So while made with earnest intentions and captivating performances, Priscilla is a decent enough biopic that falls flat in exploring more about its subject matter beyond superficial love and all the glitz and glamour that comes with it. I would recommend this on the grounds that it's more interesting than it is thought provoking, though definitely take that for what it's worth given how much influence was done by the target at hand. Besides, even if the king is no longer looked at the same way he was then, projects like these are good reminders to not look up to everyone you admire, let alone fall for.

I saw this 2 weeks ago and completely forgot that I had. Even watching the trailer right now doesn't bring memories of me watching this movie. It's like a bland meal with zero spices. Totally unoriginal. Utterly boring and predictable. It's sad because this is a story worth telling and I'm sure that it was an epic ride for Priscilla but this movie barely made any impact. It lacked something major and I can't even put my finger on it. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible but it was nothing to rave about.

My main issue with this movie is how Priscilla is portrayed. She is totally character-less. Almost no emotion. Very slow. Lifeless. As if she never even lived. Even the party scenes in Vegas were slow and lifeless. It may have been the editing or maybe the low budget (?) but this movie did not portray the grand-ness and epic-ness of the life that Elvis' girl must have had.

Watch if you're bored and have nothing better to do. Otherwise, skip.

When a film seeks to depict the life story of a beloved public figure, it generally works best when it paints a comprehensive portrait of said individual. However, in this biography of the wife of rock icon Elvis Presley, viewers get a picture that seemingly tells only half of the story. Writer-director Sofia Coppola's latest focuses on the years Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny) spent with Elvis (Jacob Elordi). They embark on a sincerely loving relationship that, sadly, falls prey to problems with drugs, firearms, infidelity, prolonged separations and control freak tendencies, conditions - largely initiated by Elvis - that eventually lead to their separation (and at times cause the film to be more about him than her). Regrettably, the choice of this narrative leaves out the many significant personal and professional accomplishments of Priscilla's life on her own, an inspiring story that's completely (and perplexingly) overlooked. As a consequence, viewers are primarily shown a profile of a predominantly subservient character who rarely rebels until she finally somehow musters up the courage to leave (where did that trait come from?), with nothing about the successes that followed. In addition, there are many story threads that feel unresolved or underdeveloped, leaving audiences hanging about what comes from them. To its credit, "Priscilla" is, in several respects, some of the best (though surprisingly most conventional) work that Coppola has produced as a filmmaker, as evidenced in the cinematography and editing and in Elordi's balanced portrayal of Elvis. But, like other of Coppola's efforts, this offering could still use some tidying up in the writing, character development and overall story structure. The wife of a King truly warrants better treatment.