Priscilla: The other side of the Elvis story

 

Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis work in tandem, not against each other. They act as vastly different sides of the same coin: Luhrmann’s style lends itself to Elvis’s glitzy, public-facing career and all the troubles that came with it; while Coppola focuses exclusively on the opposite subject, his personal relationship with Priscilla. Both leads nail the characters, and I think I prefer Jacob Elordi’s Elvis to Austin Butler’s. Coppola did not manage to get rights to Elvis’s music and the movie is 100% better for it. No classic hits, no Colonial, no flashy performances, this perspective is locked in on how Priscilla perceived Elvis. There’s so much intention in the way she’s portrayed next to him! From the very first shot we understand how young she was when Priscilla first encountered him. It’s pretty uncomfortable, but that’s the point. The structure of their relationship was never solid to begin with, and we see that unfold in unexpected ways.

There’s not exactly a core narrative, rather we see many different moments of her life spent away from and with Elvis. You can feel the book adaption element in the way some scenes just fade out or move on, but they all point to the same thing: relationship troubles. Elvis and Priscilla clearly had some highs but there were many low lows in there too. Backing this is a soft and comfortable production that nails the clothes, hair, and set design of that era. We spend a lot of time at Graceland and I felt like I knew the place in and out by the time the credits rolled. You can tell it’s a lower budget flick at times but Coppola creatively shoots around it while still getting the point across. Gorgeous pastel color grading gives Priscilla an ethereal atmosphere.

The weakest point is definitely the last third, although that’s apparently accurate to how the book this is based off is structured. Maybe Priscilla didn’t want to go into so much detail about the end of her relationship with Elvis, I totally get that. It leads to a pretty abrupt ending, but the preceding content is good enough that it’s not a dealbreaker by any means. If you liked Baz’s Elvis, definitely check out Priscilla to see the other half of the story.