November 30, 2023
FILM: PRISCILLA
DIRECTED BY: SOFIA COPPOLA
STARRING: CAILEE SPAENY, JACOB ELORDI, ARI COHEN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Last year director Baz Luhrmann took us on a ride depicting the life and career of Elvis Presley. That film was very well-received and lead Austin Butler to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. This year Sofia Coppola changes the perspective with her adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s book, Elvis & Me, about Priscilla’s romantic relationship with Elvis. The film begins when he is stationed in Germany in 1959, as is Priscilla’s father. One of Elvis’s “reps” seemingly randomly sees her in a diner and invites her to meet the King at a party, much to the dismay of Priscilla’s protective but logical parents, and he quickly becomes smitten with her. Did he see her somewhere else? Did this “rep” scope out other young girls for the King? (He is 24, she is 14.) This is not made clear.
In today’s world, this particular relationship between an adult male and a middle school girl would immediately be given the “ick” factor. People would be up in arms if Hollywood were to tell this story about a non-celebrity’s romance with such a young girl. However, this is Elvis AND it DID happen. Why Sofia Coppola decided to tell this story now is curious. We don’t ever really understand why Elvis is so centered on this one girl. At one point, he tells her father it’s because “she’s more mature” than the other girls he meets. The problem with this statement is that we don’t really see her as being anything other than a school girl at 14. It’s not as if they have some deep conversations that make Elvis see her as a more intelligent and insightful teenager compared to other females he meets (something that, for better or worse, Woody Allen handled quite well in Manhattan.) There’s really nothing extraordinary about her maturity level. The fact that he is in his 20s and feels that connected to this young girl would make for a much more interesting story exploration. But this is Priscilla’s perspective. All she knows is that Elvis wants to be with her and she wants to be with him.
I think Coppola’s main drive is to demonstrate how problematic it is if a teenage girl focuses all of her energies on a guy (whether he’s older or not.) Priscilla has no friends and wanders around school pining for Elvis. She’s an empty vessel that simply absorbs the magnetism that is Elvis Presley. Perhaps Coppola, being a former child of the entertainment business herself, may have observed similarly obsessed girls in her life. Priscilla goes along with whatever Elvis wants, whether it be how she should wear her hair, what dresses look best on her, when she should travel with him, and when he needs her to nurse him with uppers, downers, or LSD. At one point, he says, “I need you to be there for me.” Coppola seems to be reflecting on the era of the 1950s and 60s when women were more likely to follow a man’s lead. She is painting a portrait of what happens to a woman who forsakes herself all in the devotion to her man. In this case, she becomes imprisoned in his world at Graceland and has little say in anything associated with the estate. Ultimately, and this really isn’t a spoiler, Priscilla does stand up for her needs.
The arc of the character is a bit shallow though and Coppola does not really provide a satisfying reason for why she eventually leaves him. It happens very abruptly as if time had run out on the production of the film and they weren’t able to provide details as to the ultimate downfall of their relationship during their final few years together.
Cailee Spaeny won a Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year for performance as Priscilla. It’s an interesting choice. She’s fine in the role but we mostly see her as a little girl only slowly standing up to the controlling Elvis years later. Jacob Elordi is very good as Elvis. While he doesn’t have to sing and perform to the level that Austin Butler did in the film Elvis, he creates a much more personal version of the icon. His earliest scenes are particularly noteworthy. When he first is getting to know Priscilla, Elordi focuses his eyes down and away from the girl demonstrating a bashfulness we rarely ever see in Elvis portrayals. His nervousness also comes through with a lot of noticeable leg shaking. The British actor effectively manages a strong southern drawl and a deep, rich vocal tone in his speaking delivery. In their early relationship, he comes across as a high school teenager dating a girl for the first time rather than a man in his 20s. This isn’t a slight on Elordi rather it shows how pure and innocent he feels around her.
Other characters are not given much attention. Elvis is also surrounded by a gaggle of guys that we can only assume are his touring posse. It’s never really clear what role they individually take in his life as they are not at all developed as characters.
Much of the music used in the film comes from the 1960s although there is nary an actual Elvis song. There is also an occasional use of electronic music to perhaps provide a link to today and a tool to emphasize the energy surrounding Elvis.
Ultimately though this is the story of Priscilla. It’s pretty engrossing but the narrative leaps and motivations could have used a bit more detail and development. Based on what is here, Priscilla fell into a well at a very young age and eventually pulled herself out.
Priscilla is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
FILM: PRISCILLA
DIRECTED BY: SOFIA COPPOLA
STARRING: CAILEE SPAENY, JACOB ELORDI, ARI COHEN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Last year director Baz Luhrmann took us on a ride depicting the life and career of Elvis Presley. That film was very well-received and lead Austin Butler to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. This year Sofia Coppola changes the perspective with her adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s book, Elvis & Me, about Priscilla’s romantic relationship with Elvis. The film begins when he is stationed in Germany in 1959, as is Priscilla’s father. One of Elvis’s “reps” seemingly randomly sees her in a diner and invites her to meet the King at a party, much to the dismay of Priscilla’s protective but logical parents, and he quickly becomes smitten with her. Did he see her somewhere else? Did this “rep” scope out other young girls for the King? (He is 24, she is 14.) This is not made clear.
In today’s world, this particular relationship between an adult male and a middle school girl would immediately be given the “ick” factor. People would be up in arms if Hollywood were to tell this story about a non-celebrity’s romance with such a young girl. However, this is Elvis AND it DID happen. Why Sofia Coppola decided to tell this story now is curious. We don’t ever really understand why Elvis is so centered on this one girl. At one point, he tells her father it’s because “she’s more mature” than the other girls he meets. The problem with this statement is that we don’t really see her as being anything other than a school girl at 14. It’s not as if they have some deep conversations that make Elvis see her as a more intelligent and insightful teenager compared to other females he meets (something that, for better or worse, Woody Allen handled quite well in Manhattan.) There’s really nothing extraordinary about her maturity level. The fact that he is in his 20s and feels that connected to this young girl would make for a much more interesting story exploration. But this is Priscilla’s perspective. All she knows is that Elvis wants to be with her and she wants to be with him.
I think Coppola’s main drive is to demonstrate how problematic it is if a teenage girl focuses all of her energies on a guy (whether he’s older or not.) Priscilla has no friends and wanders around school pining for Elvis. She’s an empty vessel that simply absorbs the magnetism that is Elvis Presley. Perhaps Coppola, being a former child of the entertainment business herself, may have observed similarly obsessed girls in her life. Priscilla goes along with whatever Elvis wants, whether it be how she should wear her hair, what dresses look best on her, when she should travel with him, and when he needs her to nurse him with uppers, downers, or LSD. At one point, he says, “I need you to be there for me.” Coppola seems to be reflecting on the era of the 1950s and 60s when women were more likely to follow a man’s lead. She is painting a portrait of what happens to a woman who forsakes herself all in the devotion to her man. In this case, she becomes imprisoned in his world at Graceland and has little say in anything associated with the estate. Ultimately, and this really isn’t a spoiler, Priscilla does stand up for her needs.
The arc of the character is a bit shallow though and Coppola does not really provide a satisfying reason for why she eventually leaves him. It happens very abruptly as if time had run out on the production of the film and they weren’t able to provide details as to the ultimate downfall of their relationship during their final few years together.
Cailee Spaeny won a Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year for performance as Priscilla. It’s an interesting choice. She’s fine in the role but we mostly see her as a little girl only slowly standing up to the controlling Elvis years later. Jacob Elordi is very good as Elvis. While he doesn’t have to sing and perform to the level that Austin Butler did in the film Elvis, he creates a much more personal version of the icon. His earliest scenes are particularly noteworthy. When he first is getting to know Priscilla, Elordi focuses his eyes down and away from the girl demonstrating a bashfulness we rarely ever see in Elvis portrayals. His nervousness also comes through with a lot of noticeable leg shaking. The British actor effectively manages a strong southern drawl and a deep, rich vocal tone in his speaking delivery. In their early relationship, he comes across as a high school teenager dating a girl for the first time rather than a man in his 20s. This isn’t a slight on Elordi rather it shows how pure and innocent he feels around her.
Other characters are not given much attention. Elvis is also surrounded by a gaggle of guys that we can only assume are his touring posse. It’s never really clear what role they individually take in his life as they are not at all developed as characters.
Much of the music used in the film comes from the 1960s although there is nary an actual Elvis song. There is also an occasional use of electronic music to perhaps provide a link to today and a tool to emphasize the energy surrounding Elvis.
Ultimately though this is the story of Priscilla. It’s pretty engrossing but the narrative leaps and motivations could have used a bit more detail and development. Based on what is here, Priscilla fell into a well at a very young age and eventually pulled herself out.
Priscilla is currently playing in theaters everywhere.