Rent Priscilla on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon (book), Sofia Coppola (written by)
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets rock-and-roll superstar Elvis Presley, he becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, and a vulnerable best friend.
Verdict
Despite the title and character, this is a movie about Elvis. We see him at the margins by how he treats his teenage girlfriend, later wife. She's living a fantasy, and he has someone he can control. Elvis dictates where she lives, what she wears, and how she lives. From the beginning, the question remains; what was his interest in a girl so young? They were never equals, and he never tried to treat her as equal. She was too young to know any better, and maybe that was his draw.
Watch It.
Review
There are at least two sides to every story. While I'm not defending Elvis this is a companion piece to Elvis, a story about his rise and expansion. This movie focuses on his wife, but Elvis is still a big part of this story.
I didn't understand in the first couple of scenes why this guy is inviting Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) to Elvis's house. Why her? Did he walk up to every teenager in the diner? Despite her parent's concerns, she goes.
Elvis wants to meet her again, but there's a ten year age gap. He's twenty-four, and she's fourteen. I just can't fathom that. I get she would fawn over someone so famous, but his interest is odd. With a relationship like that, is it just about control? He states, "I really like talking to you." She's barely said anything. This is where the movie starts, and it's making a point.
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| Jacob Elordi, Cailee Spainey play Elvis, Priscilla |
Elvis leaves, beginning his military service and Priscilla is left pining for him. It's weird the parents aren't concerned with the age difference. You can say it was different back then, but it's just weird. There's no way you can't read into Elvis's actions. He stops her when she tries to kiss him, but is that genuine concern for her age as he states or is he playing a game to increase her desire? There's also the height difference which only accentuates how young she looks compared to him. She spends a week with him and doesn't want to go back home. Now the parents are concerned, but that seems a bit late. The other aspect to this is her parents wanting her to be happy instead of what's best.
Priscilla lives at Graceland basically alone as Elvis spends most of his time away. She looks for a part time job, and Elvis gives her an ultimatum, "It's either me or your career." Is that it? Does he want someone at his beck and call? He's isolated her completely. Later he has her modeling clothes for him and his entourage. He ignores what she likes or wants. She doesn't see it. She isn't old enough or wise enough. Where does this go? We see his excuses, the cracks in the relationship. It seems like he just wants someone obedient.
This seems like a response to the recent Elvis movie. That movie showed us the public superstar. This is the other side. We see the start of this odd relationship and then watch it slowly wither away as it devolves to abusive. I kept wondering about his interest. It must be that he likes control over someone. When she becomes pregnant, he wants to take a break. That's got to be some kind of game. He thinks he has her trapped. She's indifferent and that's when he backtracks.
While this movie is called Priscilla, it's largely about Elvis. He finds an impressionable, pliable child. He isolates and transforms her. He's abusive, unfaithful. There's a lot of ego. His Memphis Mafia always follows him around, there to laugh at his jokes and agree with him. He wants Priscilla to feed into that, to want him. This is a portrait of an abusive relationship. Elvis adds to the interest.
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