Grade: B-
It’s strange to watch a film and not want the same thing that at least one onscreen character wants. That happens throughout much of Priscilla, particularly the first half. Things were taking place that our leads were on board for, but I hoped they wouldn’t go there. The movie begins in Elvis Presley’s army days, where he – at age 24 – takes a liking to 14-year-old high school freshman Priscilla Beaulieu. It doesn’t take long for them to be romantically involved, and share a bed. See what I mean about wanting to put a pin in it, even if they don’t?
It’s 1959, and Priscilla’s father is stationed in Germany, at the same time Elvis is there. The two begin casually dating until Elvis eventually goes home to the US after his service, and loses touch with Priscilla. Cut to 1963. They reconnect, one thing leads to another, and Priscilla has been uprooted to Graceland in Memphis, TN – where she finishes out high school. Well-known by this point as Presley’s live-in girlfriend, she is quite the topic of whispered conversation amongst classmates and her nun teachers.
Director Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation) permeates the movie with a consistent bubbling undercurrent of awkward uncomfortableness. Even I, as a man, was not ok with the way so much of this was playing out. It seemed like the perfect life had fallen into Priscilla’s lap. She never has to work, worry, or want for anything. She’s set for life as the girlfriend – and then wife – of the biggest performer in the world at the time.
At first, he seems like the consummate gentleman: always speaking to his fellow military man (Priscilla’s dad) with respect, never forgetting a “sir, yes, sir.” And even though Elvis and Priscilla share a bed, it was a long time before they did anything other than sleep. He was able to put out those fires with a “let’s not get carried away, let’s wait until the right time,” etc. Then manipulation, domination, and abuse begin to creep in. Notice how even if SHE’S ok with some activity in the bedroom, if he isn’t, then nothing takes place. Everything happens, or doesn’t, on his terms, based on what he wants. And sometimes he has strong suggestions on what she should or shouldn’t wear. And sometimes he has a temper. And sometimes he has a thing for his co-stars on the set of his movies.
Cailee Spaeny is fine as the title character, but anybody could have played the role as it appears here. It’s more about hair, makeup, and costumes than a performance. She isn’t given much to do, other than look around tense and teary-eyed, and make me wish she was in a movie that unpacked all that more. Jacob Elordi gives us just enough of the gist of Elvis without being an impersonation, and it’s refreshing to see.
The ending has a bittersweet satisfaction. Priscilla gets the same grade I gave Elvis last year, which puts them on the same level – but you can’t really compare them. They are apples and oranges. The Baz Luhrmann film was a lengthy glittery biopic with his usual frenetic directing style, and featured all the songs you’d expect to hear. Coppola’s movie is more of a character study, focusing on his wife, who is just trying to be her own person and not get swallowed up by everything. Both have their place.
Grade: B-
Film Reviews by Mark 
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