*Some spoilers for the movie but also it’s based on history*

When I first heard about this movie months ago, I wasn’t sure I even cared about seeing it. We just had the Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie last year. Why do we now need Priscilla’s version of events? But then I saw the trailer and it intrigued me, so I figured I’d give it a shot. After seeing the movie, I could not get home to get my thoughts about it down fast enough. 

Even mentioning this movie in the same sentence as Baz Luhrmann’s movie is a crime. They could not be more different. While that film showcased the flashy, Vegas leaning side of Elvis, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla is much more delicate and feminine to reflect the female lead. The movie looks absolutely gorgeous and everything from the clothes, the hair, the makeup, the interior design, the film grain fits the specific vibe and aesthetic perfectly. You really feel like you’re inside of this world and this moment in time.

The film is based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir “Elvis and Me” and I felt like the style of the storytelling really reflected the cadence of a memoir. The story in the film is shown mostly in tiny vignettes, just brief instances and interactions that happen and then cut to the next moment. To me, this felt just like the way a real person (like Priscilla herself) would tell a story. Like someone saying, “I remember this one time…” and then mentioning a small moment that sticks out in their memory. Not many people are able to tell stories in straightforward chronologies that progress evenly. I know this style of film can feel aimless and slow to some people, but I felt like it fit the story in this instance.

I thought a film titled “Priscilla” would be mostly Priscilla’s story. But it turned out to be Elvis’s story told through the lens of Priscilla. Not because he is more interesting or famous or whatever, but because his story was her story. Her entire life revolved around him. She was not her own person, she was his person. Most of the film takes place at Graceland. We’re like Priscilla, at first fascinated and intrigued by the place. But by the end, we’re feeling her claustrophobia. She spends so much time with Elvis in their bedroom or walking around the quiet house alone. She wasn’t permitted to leave and do as she pleased or have her own life. Instead, she was forced to stay in the minimal amount of space he allowed her to take up. Priscilla is also shown to be mostly surrounded by men, namely Elvis and his entourage. She had no one to confide in or rely on or to look out for her.  

Ultimately, this is a story about consent. Yes, there is the obvious fact that when they first meet she is 14 and he is 24. That is blatantly disgusting and creepy and the first few scenes of them together made me supremely uncomfortable because of how young she is. But the film focuses more on consent in this relationship as an issue of power dynamics. This is something that’s been discussed more in recent years when it comes to celebrities in relationships with “normal people”. There’s a feeling like you can’t say no to them because of the power they hold. America, in particular, has a warped relationship to celebrity and fame. We worship it. And people would do anything to feel close to that star power in some way.

During this film, I thought back to who might have had Elvis-level fame when I was 14 like Priscilla and landed on Justin Bieber. I was never really a “Belieber” but I know for sure that if Justin Bieber had asked any girl I knew at the time to do anything, they would do it. He’s Justin Bieber! You’re not going to say no to him. Even now, I know I would definitely be influenced by the power of celebrity, but even more so at such a young age. Like many of us at that time in our lives, Priscilla felt lost and confused but also alienated and lonely as an American living abroad in Germany while her father was in the military there. She was particularly vulnerable and impressionable and Elvis took advantage of that. In the film version of events, it seems like he did it deliberately, as he is portrayed to be very controlling and possessive. But even if it was a normal, well-adjusted celebrity man pursuing a relationship with a normal, appropriately-aged, non-famous woman, can there be consent considering the power dynamics of that relationship? If he asks her to come home with him, is she going because she’s interested in him or because she feels like she can’t say no because of his status? Because anyone else in her position would do it? Because who would say no to Justin Bieber? Or Elvis? Or [fill in the blank]? Maybe it’s a little bit of both and as long as everyone is respectful that’s fine, but when things go sideways, that’s when it gets tricky. 

I never thought I’d be talking about Armie Hammer in a conversation about Priscilla but here we are. How is he relevant, you may be wondering? He’s an example of celebrity influence going sideways. Actually, not sideways. Just very, very badly. If you don’t know all the details I’m not going to get into the whole thing, but part of it was that he was sending creepy, threatening messages to women he was in contact with and, in some, claimed to be a cannibal and wanted to eat them. I know, I know, this really sounds like we’re getting off track but I promise it’s related. This story sticks in my mind because it became a conversation among my friends and I. A joking conversation, but now when we’re particularly obsessed with a certain celebrity we sometimes say: would you let them eat your bones? If the answer is yes, you’re a true fan. You would do anything for this person. If you’ve spent any time on the internet these days you would see plenty of fans saying their favorite stars could “run them over with a car and they’d say thank you”. It’s a similar concept. All of that is obviously hyperbole and not a serious conversation, but it did stem from a real story in which women felt pressured to be in a situation they were uncomfortable with because a celebrity was involved. I’m sure Armie Hammer would not have that influence on most people and it all seems crazy from the outside, but substitute in anyone you are a huge fan of and maybe you look at the situation differently (not the cannibal stuff, just the influence). Again, a lot of this also has to do with our society’s unhealthy relationship to celebrity and the perceived influence we give these people, but we can’t pretend that it’s not there and that it isn’t a factor in many of these scenarios. I thought Priscilla demonstrated perfectly how intoxicating it all might be, even though it’s heavy on the “toxic”. A quote from a review of the film says, “we’re caught up, for a while, in the otherworldly entrancement of what it would mean to have the biggest star on the planet choose you to be his princess.”

Jacob Elordi does a fantastic Elvis (sorry to Austin Butler but I liked this take better). His casting also brings to mind his most well known role, the abusive, psychotic, rage-filled character of Nate from Euphoria. This really helps further the characterization of Elvis here without Jacob actually having to play into it too much. We just have it as subtext in our minds that that could all be in there somewhere just under the surface. Jacob’s height (6’5”), particularly compared to Cailee Spaeny (5’1”), also helps because he towers over her. He looks like such an intimidating, larger-than-life presence and she looks like a child. Cailee is absolutely stunning as Priscilla and is able to convey so much emotion and conflicting thoughts just on her face.

Priscilla is very much a show, don’t tell movie. No one says the quiet parts out loud or calls attention to any issues or says anything at all. You just see it and feel it and know it. The majority of Priscilla’s actions and dialogue in the film are just reactions to Elvis. The movie actually has very little dialogue in general and is mostly told through the emotions we see play across Priscilla’s face in different scenarios. The ending of the movie felt a little anticlimactic, but maybe that’s more true to life. There’s not always one big blowout or final straw. It’s all the little things that build over time and eventually break, not explode but just crumple. Priscilla drives out of the gates she was stuck behind for so long, always watching others drive in and out, living fulfilling lives, and finally gets to take her life and her freedom into her own hands. 

I don’t think this movie will be for everyone. It’s slow and quiet and subtle, but if you really look, it says a lot and looks gorgeous while doing it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

2023 Count: 28 seasons, 50 movies, 1 special