Directed By Sofia Coppola

Starring – Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen

The Plot – When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu (Spaeny) meets Elvis Presley (Elordi) at a party, 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 Coppola tells the unseen side of a 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.

Rated R for drug use and adult language

Priscilla | Official Trailer HD | A24 – YouTube

POSITIVES

In one of the more audaciously insightful moves that a director has made in recent memory, Coppola turns the Elvis myth upside down, with an unapologetically revealing look into the long-speculated marriage of the iconic rock star. As to where last year’s “Elvis” attained a victimizing vantage point for the King, this one instead articulates him as the monster in this bleak marriage, where his underage grooming, mental and physical abuse, and infidelity solidified a feeling of getting to know Presley for the first time, and one that when inspired by Priscilla’s memoir about unstable relationship, solidifies with it an air of authenticity that isn’t always easy to watch. Coppola conjures the energy of first love, the stardom of Presley, but especially the loneliness of her titular protagonist, whose often plagued by enveloping isolation and quiet so sharply articulate that you can’t help but feel empathy for the decision that ultimately defined her lifetime. These sharp unveils are mocked remarkably with Coppola’s own dreamy presentation over the proceedings, which atmospherically outlines this false sense of warmly passionate affection surrounding our two leads, before the script and its themes turns this dramatically on its head. The cinematography and particularly the lighting emits this glowing radiance that not only serves the air of the seamless vintage production values exceptionally, but also fills the canvas with this home movies kind of quality in the movie’s coloring that only further emphasizes the extent of its vantage perspective, especially one that doesn’t hit the fade out button until it is often too late, and we’ve stumbled into something disastrous for our couple. Beyond this, the aforementioned production is remarkably blessed with the kind of particular detail that actually makes this feel like a film from the time frame that it’s depicting, with classic wardrobe choices, timely relevant and hip soundtrack choices, and especially make-up and wig work that are nothing short of Oscar worthy, for the way they effortlessly transform and age Priscilla before our very eyes. The performances are also exceptional, primarily with Spaeny and Elordi, who each channel such distinct visions to their respective portrayals. For Spaeny’s Priscilla, she effectively balances the innocence and evolving maturity of the character, while embodying this overriding helplesness that makes her feel like a prisoner in her own fairytale, and for Elordi, his portrayal of Elvis evades a stationary impression with a pitch perfect vocal range and corresponding accent that proves the actor has done his homework in his approach to the role. In an emotional sense, the two of them ride the highs and lows of a torturous relationship, but in a physical sense, the 6’5 frame of Elordi towers Spaeny’s 5’1, which only further visually emphasizes the unhealthy differences and maturity struggle between them, which only makes Elvis more imposing when we’re seeing him through the eyes of Priscilla’s experiences. It’s easy to see Oscar consideration for either of them, but my money is on Spaeny, whose aforementioned physical transformation is only succeeded by the abundance of humanity that she supplants to the portrayal, allowing her to stand out from the proceedings in ways that are emotionally rendering without feeling melodramatic.

NEGATIVES

As for diminished returns, the script’s overall structure and even editing occasionally lead to a lack of momentum being built between respective scenes and sequences, especially for the third act, which feels too aimless and even random to resolve matters completely satisfying for the audience. While we coherently interpret where Priscilla’s arc is heading because of our knowledge of the real life story, the episodic pockets of drama during the film’s final twenty minutes feel like an unrestrained aftershock that are piled on to an already bloated canvas of domestic abuse, and when coupled with the fade-to-black consistency that so much of the editing during this timeframe resorted to, made so many of the conflicts feel episodic, especially in the way theyre stacked like plates of patience for the audience waiting for closure. This aspect obviously throws off the pacing for the film because so much of it, and frankly, the entirety of the movie is very repetitive, making the 108 minute run time feel about twenty minutes beyond its length, which had me checking my watch a couple of times during the third act. Finally, while the film attains many endearing facets in its exploration, the titular protagonist and her paper thin outline of characterization simply isn’t one of them, and soon we start to wonder why Coppola picked this particular female held in captive to tell a story. Priscilla’s perspective is often deduced to a look or emotional impulse by Spaeny, and what goes noticeably missing is the lack of ambition or inhabitions, which should make her such an endearing character to the audience, but unfortunately one who becomes defined by the ignorance she displays in overlooking Elvis’ detestable actions. As the film proceeded to the third act, I was hoping that it would shed Priscilla’s layers like a petal falling from a flower, but Coppola never finds her lead’s voice, and because of such we never feel like we learn anything new about her, but rather what she went through as a victim.

OVERALL
“Priscilla” is loved tender by a duo of dazzling performances, a glowing canvas, and an insightful delve into the little-known marriage of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, which pulls back the curtain on several tensely uncomfortable situations. While the film runs out of steam during a sloppy and abruptly edited third act, including a surface level exploration into the wants and needs of Priscilla, its vital importance of ‘Herstory’ balances out the ages old speculation, nonetheless, and in the case of Coppola, supplants another ferociously daring delve into female captivity.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-