‘Priscilla’ Balances the Perspective on Elvis Presley

Credit: A24

Rating: 4.5/5

This review contains major spoilers for Priscilla and some discussion of sexual assault and grooming.

You'd think, from the Google Reviews of Priscilla, that Sofia Coppola had directed a hit-piece on Elvis Presley. According to these audience reviews, Coppola has tried to "seduce her audience" with a "feminist anti-male social agenda." Apparently, Priscilla fails to mention that "Elvis was entrapped by Priscilla [sic] family they asked to be transferred to where he was stationed and arranged meeting with their daughter read child bride book then blackmailed Elvis with exposure if he did not marry their daughter since Elvis did have intimate relations with her." It has both "an excruciatingly slow pace" but also "[r]ushes through without continuity." Most importantly, "Elvis was tall at 6 foot but this much taller actor at 6'5 seems chosen for manipulative reasons..."

 Jacob Elordi: too tall to play Elvis. The bastard.

 Sure, Sofia Coppola likes to tell young women's stories - and she does just that with Priscilla. There's been conversation around the age gap between Priscilla and Elvis for a long time. At 14, Priscilla Beaulieu was 10 years younger than Elvis. Priscilla herself, however, would not describe his actions as grooming. Coppola chooses to respect this. This doesn't mean that the age difference isn't addressed in the film; the people around the couple frequently mention how young Priscilla looks, how strange it is that he's taken interest in a girl rather than an adult woman. We, as the audience, are not 'seduced' into taking a side. We are simply provided with a different perspective. Coppola told Rolling Stone, "I feel it's only my job to show what her experience is like... And I think you present things to an audience for them to think about and make their own decisions."

Credit: A24

 The matter of grooming is one that requires delicate handling. When a teenage girl dates someone older, it can feel exciting for her. We see this quiet excitement through Cailee Spaeny's subdued performance, masterfully peppered with subtleties that other women may recognise from their teenage selves. When Elvis first meets Priscilla, he takes her into a separate room from the guests at his party and they talk for a long time. It comes across very respectful, genuine, and vulnerable. But at the same time, it's tense, awkward, and suffocating. It takes both skilful actors and a clever director to have that paradox shine through.

 There are many small things about this film that make it the artistic success that it is. One, Sofia Coppola. With pictures like Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, and The Bling Ring in her portfolio, we know she's the type of director that can sit comfortably in silence with her actors and let the character envelop them. She takes introspective young women and gently taps them like a soft-boiled egg to let all the interesting, colourful insides ooze out. Number two is the casting of the main actors. Having one of the internet's top white boys of the month play one of music's most influential white boys of all time helps a younger audience to effectively connect with the magnetism Elvis had at that moment in time. Cailee Spaeney takes up her first major leading role as Priscilla. This launch into mainstream consciousness mirrors that of Priscilla's; the styling choices in the film will likely influence fashion in the coming year as it did back in its original era. These little echoes of the past in pop culture remind us that history, does indeed, repeat itself.

 Priscilla is a down-to-earth film in the sense that whilst we are witnessing a dramatic re-enactment of the build-up and breakdown of a high-profile romance, at the heart of it is the classic trope of first love. This is a young girl, who meets an older guy, who plays instruments and sings well, and that, during your teens, is extremely cool. You think to yourself: why me? Why does he want me? He could have anyone he wants, why does he want me? And Priscilla, both in-film and in real life, asks those same questions. We see ourselves in her.

Credit: A24

 Coppola purposefully uses "a different editing style and sound design for scenes with Elvis versus scenes without him." As a viewer, you pick up on this. It's part of the reason you might feel a little giddy like Priscilla does when he comes on screen (that, and, as mentioned once or twice before, it's Jacob Elordi). It's a sensory experience - you don't just see yourself as Priscilla Presley; you become Priscilla Presley. In our first close-up of Elordi we see him look right into her eyes, and it takes your breath away like it probably took her breath away. You are lying on your front, giggling, and kicking your feet in the air. If you didn't have a crush on Elordi before, you do now.

 But you feel strange about it. Because there is still a part of you that knows you are not actually Priscilla Presley, and that this is a 24-year-old man showing romantic interest in a 14-year-old girl. And that's likely to be a little gross for a lot of us. But Priscilla has told the same story for many years: that their relationship was not based on attraction and sex, and that they did not consummate it until they were married, by which time she was 21. Even knowing this, it's still uncomfortable. This is not shied away from.

 Elvis dictates what Priscilla should wear, whether or not she should get a job, who she spends time with. She is a little lady amongst a big group of men. She waits around for Elvis for most of the film. She is incredibly lonely. It might seem drawn-out to some, but this is another smart choice from Coppola. We begin to get a little tired like Priscilla is. And just as we get the high of seeing Elvis again, we experience a shocking low soon after as he becomes violent by play-fighting with her too roughly or throwing a chair in her direction; we're scared, but then he holds her (us), and she (we) are safe again.

 All the introductions to exciting new experiences almost make it feel worthwhile. It's montage after montage after montage with Elvis. But once Priscilla and Elvis are effectively separated, she finds her worth elsewhere. Coppola maintains a slower pace with Priscilla's solo montages, though these later ones are not the constant waiting they used to be.

Source: A24

 There deserves to be appreciation for the sensitive way Coppola handles the sexual assault scene. It's not shown in detail, but it doesn't have to be. A sexual assault is a grave, humiliating experience, and having a real-life assault play out in a biopic is an extension of that humiliation, but with an audience watching. In Priscilla, what happens in Vegas stays with Priscilla. She has said of the incident that “It was uncomfortable and unlike any other time he’d ever made love to me before, and he explained, ‘This is how a real man makes love to his woman.’” That line is kept in the film, and it's enough to understand that this is a new low for Elvis.

 Immediately after this, Priscilla leaves Elvis. The film ends shortly after. Coppola's choice to end as Priscilla leaves the gates of Graceland feels apt; her time with Elvis was her first in the public eye. As her time with Elvis ends, she has more control of her own privacy. Coppola respects this privacy in the ending when she leaves his estate.

 When asked by Rolling Stone about her thoughts on the reassessment of certain men and public perception of them during the post-#MeToo era, Coppola answered: "I think it's important to listen to women's experiences." Some of us will appreciate this approach. Some, like many who took their reviews to Google, will be infuriated that the actions of their life-long idol have been questioned. But what is art for if not to question the status quo?

 As we open our minds to new ideas, Priscilla offers another school of thought on the Priscilla and Elvis Presley romance. Their relationship is presented as complex, traditional, at times one-sided, and heart-breaking. When she met with Coppola, Priscilla asked that she "be sensitive" to Elvis when creating her film. This was undoubtedly done. The material could easily have been sensationalised, but instead it was handled with a respectful acknowledgement of the source material's wishes. Still, not everyone will like that an accurate portrait of our favourite artists involves accepting that they did, indeed, do things wrong. From what I can tell, though, I don't think Sofia Coppola will be too bothered about the Google reviews.