Priscilla, about the only woman who married the King of Rock’n’Roll, follows 2022′s Elvis, which polished his crown to a very bright sparkle. But this journey to Graceland is a much more subdued affair. It’s a Sofia Coppola film, after all. She’s had a thing for young women in gilded cages before, in the likes of Marie Antoinette, The Beguiled, and The Virgin Suicides.
It may not be about Elvis, but his needs, desires and absences monopolise the whole film. Coppola wants to give voice to his virgin bride, as we watch a young Cailee Spaeny transform from naive, softly spoken 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu into annoyed, softly spoken Mrs Elvis Presley, neglected wife of a narcissistic superstar.
The daughter of a USAF officer living on an American base in Germany, she meets the freshly drafted Presley at a house party. He’s already a huge star and she’s a big fan.
Amidst the dimly lit snippets of conversation from semi-curious party guests, it initially feels a bit creepy watching the decade-older Presley talk about himself ad nauseam (“I really like spending time with you,” he pauses to tell her) before inviting the wide-eyed teen upstairs.
Soon their relationship has blossomed with negotiated curfews – “Bring her home by 22.00,” dad tells Presley. Returning with him to America, Priscilla gets an Elvis makeover of black hair and heavy eye make-up, an introduction to prescription pills, and eventually, marriage at age 21.
Distractingly, Australian actor Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, Euphoria) may not look much like Elvis, but he sounds spot on. Although his Southern murmurings are a little hard to understand, his performance is not: it’s all me, me, me, and it takes Priscilla a painfully long time to see this through her rose-tinted glasses.
The challenge is that Spaeny spends much of the movie alone in an immaculate house “keeping the home fires burning” or mewing down the phone to Elvis while he’s away on set in Hollywood, having affairs. Hers is a good performance, but one with very little range.
To this end, Priscilla is a frustrating film. It’s beautifully photographed (Coppola’s style shows hints of her famous father and his peers), period-perfect and at first, an interesting origin story. The acting is solid and Priscilla’s version of events is taken from her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me. Priscilla gave Coppola her blessing.
But as her boredom and powerlessness transitions from Germany to Graceland, and their relationship worsens from long-distance phone calls to up-close domestic abuse, the King loses his sheen. So does the movie.
Rating out of 5: ★★★
Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola, is in cinemas now.
