Hi, I’m Eva, and today I am going to be talking about my thoughts on the 2023 release of Priscilla, starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi and directed by Sofia Coppola. Honestly, I didn’t have many expectations going into the movie because I feel like it was a lot less heavily advertised than other recent movie releases.

Overall, I found this movie thoroughly enjoyable, with its messages of isolation and self-discovery strikingly portrayed through beautiful cinematography. However, the story felt a little awkward at times, and the ending was a bit abrupt and anticlimactic.

For those of you who don’t know, Priscilla tells the story of the relationship between Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu. It’s based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, titled Elvis and Me, and presents their relationship from Priscilla’s perspective.

As you can probably guess from the way the story’s title was changed from “Elvis and Me” to “Priscilla,” the narrative focuses on Priscilla’s journey toward self-discovery rather than her relationship with Elvis.

When we first meet Priscilla, it’s 1959, and she’s only 14 years old. Priscilla is sitting alone at a diner at the U.S. military base in Germany where her dad is stationed when Elvis’s friend approaches her and invites her to one of his parties.

The couple’s 10-year age gap felt really uncomfortable at the start, but Sofia Coppola did a good job developing their relationship throughout the movie. At moments their relationship seemed sweet and authentic, and by the end of the story, Priscilla was already 28, making their age gap feel like less of a big deal. At the beginning of the movie, though, I felt really unsettled and just “icked out,” and I could tell other members of the audience had similar thoughts.

When Priscilla and Elvis meet at the party, Elvis asks her what grade she’s in, and she tells him she’s a freshman in high school. I mean, take Elvis, who’s in the prime of his career as a world-renowned rockstar, and then look at Priscilla, who’s still so young and naive. She still has stuffed animals in her bedroom and has to ask her parents for permission to attend Elvis’s party.

And then, after talking for a few moments, Elvis asks Priscilla if she wants to go somewhere private. When this happened, a few members of the audience, which, notably, was pretty much all teenage girls, cried out, “No!”

I think that one of the redeeming qualities of the relationship’s portrayal is that Coppola invites viewers to make their own judgments on it. She doesn’t try to cover up the fact that Priscilla is only 14, but she doesn’t present Elvis as a child predator, either.

Throughout the entire movie, Elvis isn’t portrayed as evil or uncaring. In fact, Elordi’s portrayal of Elvis just made him seem like a real person with his own flaws and insecurities.

I think this has something to do with the fact that Elvis and Priscilla’s marriage ended on good terms in real life, and whenever Priscilla tells her story, she emphasizes the fact that she does not believe that Elvis took advantage of her youth. 

Supposedly, Elvis is just looking for someone from America to talk to because he is homesick, but their relationship quickly takes a romantic turn. At first, the couple is extremely happy together, but Elvis’s perpetual absence and crushing pressure for success cause their relationship’s eventual downfall. Elvis begins acting controlling and even violent when he is unable to control his anger.

I loved Spaeny’s portrayal of Priscilla because I think she was really able to capture the young woman’s loneliness and path toward self-discovery. I feel like her acting was so convincing in presenting Priscilla both as a dreamy, innocent teenager and a wise beyond-her-years young woman that it made me understand what it would be like to be in her shoes, which was another factor that made their relationship a little easier to accept. I really enjoyed watching her mature over the years and develop a voice for herself, eventually expressing her opinions, much to Elvis’s fury.

Another aspect of the film that I loved was Coppola’s use of unique and creative cinematography to make the audience feel immersed in the world depicted on the screen. We see scenes recorded on vintage-style film cameras, their grainy images and shaky handling adding on a personal touch, almost as if shot by the characters themselves.

In one of the most striking scenes, we see Elvis on stage in his iconic white jumpsuit, performing for a fanatic audience. The scene is shot from the back, with the stage lights casting Elvis as a silhouette, and without music, the only sounds being the screams of his supporters. I found this scene to be especially memorable, as Elvis’s dark figure standing on stage alone reflected his own loneliness that paralleled Priscilla’s.

The only letdown, in my opinion, was the ending. While it was heartwarming to see Priscilla finally speak up for herself, the couple’s divorce seemed imminent from the start, so the conclusion felt a little anticlimactic. Although I acknowledge that this is probably to uphold the idea that Priscilla and Elvis parted amicably and remained friends throughout their lives, Elvis’s immediate acceptance of the divorce doesn’t really agree with his previously established pattern of violent outbursts when Priscilla “rebels” against him.

Adding on to that, the movie itself was pretty short compared to most these days, clocking in at only one hour and 45 minutes, so the ending felt abrupt. Especially because her divorce is attributed to her desire for self-discovery, when she says to Elvis, “You’re losing me to a life of my own,” I would have loved to see who Priscilla becomes when she is not tied to the confines of being Elvis’s wife.

Regardless, I had a great time watching the movie, especially with Coppola’s portrayal of Elvis and Priscilla’s relationship as passionate and loving, but also realistically human in its flaws. Throughout the story, I found myself rooting for Priscilla on her journey toward finding her own identity in a world where she is consistently pushed aside and neglected. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this film for its intimate depiction of characters and human interest. I am so excited to see how “Priscilla” competes with other recent releases in terms of its awards and nominations going forward.

Thank you so much for listening to my review on “Priscilla.”