It is never easy to remove the rose-colored glasses when looking at adored celebrities and musicians, particularly ones with the global and legendary star power of Elvis Presley. We often excuse a large swath of their lives, behavior and misdeeds for the sake of the artistic impact they had and continue to have on our lives. Idolization often leads to loss of humanity, reshaping the lens with which we take the whole person for who they are in totality and limiting it to only the parts that suit our narrative. Humans are not singular, nor are they ever truly defined by the work that they do or the legacy they leave behind.
Last year’s “Elvis” is the version we all love; the bombastic and revolutionary performer and singer/songwriter who defied the odds and social norms, embraced colored music and artists, lived for his adoring fans and was ultimately done in by the weight of fame and other people around him. Sure, it briefly touches on his stint with drugs, but it was all in the name of keeping up with his fame, and The Colonel is the real villain who fed him the drugs to line his own pockets. The legend and icon of Elvis is solidified and furthered in “Elvis,” and is the way many hope to remember him and worse, see him only in this light.
Of course, whether we want to admit it or not, there is much more to Elvis the man behind the iconic outfits and memorable Vegas residency. The list of misdeeds grows the more we’re willing to discuss them and bring them to light, and Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” chooses to paint him in a more complex and complete light through the eyes of a victim of his magnetism and more devious desires. I have to tell you that we are going to be talking a lot about grooming and manipulating young women, and it’s going to be uncomfortable. So if you’re one of those who believe that these things aren’t actually real or harmful because they aren’t technically illegal, this review and the whole of “Priscilla” for that matter is not going to spare your feelings. I will not dance around these topics, as the film is very much about them.
Granted, Coppola is far more nuanced and empathetic than accusatory, but she also has no intention of taking broad strokes to uphold Elvis the icon. No, Coppola is primarily focused on demonstrating the darker sides of a man with complete unchecked power through the eyes of a young girl who doesn’t know any better, whose own misguided schoolgirl crush thrusts her into a cage of luxury and robs her of innocence and a life of her own. I don’t know if that can really be served as a trigger warning, but “Priscilla” has a lot to say about some very difficult topics, and the preservation of Elvis the Icon is the least of the film’s worries.
It is through the young eyes of Priscilla that Elvis is exclusively viewed. “Priscilla” never follows the man to his film sets, music tours, or even ventures to the inside his tour bus. This is not Elvis’ story; it is exclusively Priscilla’s and who she was with and without him. Coppola opts to keep her audience as trapped and caged as her titular character, wandering the lonely halls and acres of Graceland wondering when her wayward husband will return. She is nothing without him, but also nothing with him, slowly transforming herself into whoever Elvis wants her to be. This film holds nothing back despite being incredibly quiet and patient, and dives into themes of grooming and manipulation and predatory tactics with masterful crafting and empathy. We often hear those words and immediately conjure up images of Harvey Weinstein, wielding his power with malicious intent. But this is proof that all of those themes are often done much more quietly and over a longer period of time, and are often under the illusions of love and connection. It is important to reframe the way we view and use those words, because it can be very easy to dismiss them when they are so egregious. “Priscilla” omits the glitz and glamour of the life to bring us an almost muted but tragic story of those very things. We see an entire romance blossom through manipulative and yes, predatory tactics and the misplaced adoration and love of a young girl all before she even graduates high school.
I know I keep hammering this point, but I need to stress the care with which “Priscilla” is crafted with. Coppola approaches all of these very dark and troubling themes with such restraint that you almost don’t even notice them until the film concludes. She rushes nothing, nor does she take a sledgehammer to your skull to make sure you understand. It thrives in the small stuff, letting little micro aggressions and off handed comments and tiny awkward interactions that are just uncomfortable enough to make you feel it but never so far as to overload you with those emotions to do all the talking for her,. This allows the film to deliver an infectious, exquisite piece of cinema that festers in your mind long after it concludes. She uses gorgeous cinematography and costume design and a unique score (since she was unable to acquire the rights to Elvis’ music) to craft a gorgeous, visual feast of gaudy excess that somehow feels hollow and unsatisifying at every turn. “Priscilla” is not easy, but the best films seldom are.
And this is all before we even get to the incredible performances from Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny as Elvis and Priscilla. We’ll get to Elordi in a minute, but this is Spaeny’s movie through and through. She is a revelation, beautifully capturing the alluring innocence of a young girl trying to navigate a life filled with her fantasies that never play out the way she thought they would. With a little more that a look or a subtle, nervous smile, Spaeny conveys a well of emotion and proves that she belongs on the shortlist of best performers of the year. This is a breakthrough performance from her, one that will be looked back on fondly for years to come. This is one of the first times I’ve ever seen a 25 year old woman convincingly play a 14 year old girl. Sure, the makeup and already young face helps, but it is Spaeny’s work that truly sells this to be believable. Frankly I was more surprised to learn she was 25 than I was to accept that she was a teenager. I think people forget how difficult it is to deliver a captivating and compelling subdued and restrained performance. It’s always easier to dial up emotions and reactions to 11, but to give an 11 performance behind a level 1 glance is demonstrably harder. Spaeny never falters, and she is rightly the heart and soul of “Priscilla.“
Elordi had a tall task in front him, having to portray the same character that just the year before was lauded with praise and awards. Any time you have to take on an icon there is a challenge, but that is magnified when you have to it a year after someone else just did. Elordi proves that Elvis is in fact a human being, and there is more to mine from his life than just a perfect biopic imitation and great lip syncing chops the academy loves so much. Sorry, but I don’t like “Elvis” at all and never understood the allure of Austin Bulter and his Rami Malek in “Bohemian Rhapsody” imitation performance. Elordi’s portrayal in wholly distinct in “Priscilla,” and is asked to play the man, not the legend. Elordi tackles all the parts of Elvis we seldom see and seldom want to admit existed, and though he is not the center of things understands that he is the catalyst and maker of all, including his own undoing. Elordi is much more nuanced than the previous counterpart, fitting in perfectly to “Priscilla’s” overall aescthetic and tone. Elordi and Spaeny have radiating chemistry, and are constantly able to capture the up and downs of toxic relationships founded on false pretenses and predatory nature.
Admittedly it’s easier for me to accept a quiet but scathing critique of celebrity power and Elvis himself through the eyes of young Priscilla because I don’t really care about Elvis himself. He’s not someone I grew up on or hold in any high esteem, so every new revelation about the darker parts of his life have zero effect on me or my made up idea of who he was or who he was supposed to be. So “Priscilla” naturally resonates with me more because its themes shed light on things I feel very strongly about, and does so in such a subtle and quiet way I was able to let it wash over me. I can’t stress it enough, “Priscilla” requires a lot of a patience, and if you’re hoping for a vibrant montage of Elvis’ Greatest Hits you’re going to be left wanting. This is NOT “Elvis.” This is “Priscilla.” It is a soft, restrained story about a young girl trapped in a life she never quite understood. it is a story of a young girl who’s innocence was taken from her by powerful men who seek out youth and seldom get told no. It is a story of getting everything you thought you wanted before you could know what that even means to want. It is a story of a child pretending to understand love, and man lost in his own legacy thinking that he can have it all. It is the story of a girl becoming a woman and reclaiming her life.
These things are not gaudy, and “Priscilla” masterfully stops itself from ever getting into that part of the lifestyle. Instead, all of its strengths lie when it is just Priscilla sitting in her loneliness at Graceland, surrounded by everything she could ever want and still somehow having nothing of her own. Or when Elvis returns and she has to transform herself into being whoever he wants her to be. “Priscilla” thrives in these moments, and if the entire movie was just that it would be near perfect.
“Priscilla” is a terrific film, crafted with brilliant patience, deeply complex and nuanced themes, incredible visuals and near perfect performances. I can understand that some will find it too slow or too restrained for its own good, and some even willing to dismiss its themes and walk away from “Priscilla” thinking that it is about nothing at all and Elvis (not Priscilla of course) deserves better.
Legacies do not need to be preserved when there are stories about people caught in the wake of them. It’s ok to criticize beloved icons, as they are just as flawed as any human being. This film is not nearly as scathing as some would have you believe, nor is it as pretentious and kind as previous stories dealing with Elvis. “Priscilla” is about the girl, her stolen youth, the emptiness of luxury, and the reclamation of womanhood. It is Coppola’s best film in years, and one she was born to make.
I adored “Priscilla” and I hope you do too, because this is the kind of film that will far outlast “Elvis” both in theme, study, and importance. And that, my friend, is cinema.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
“Priscilla” is now in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
