‘Priscilla’ Is a Beautiful Yet Empty Dream

It’s pretty easy to be swept up in the visual style of a world crafted by Sofia Coppola. The director is known for her dream-like aesthetic, which pairs well with telling the story of a teenage girl. However, when it comes to a biopic, one needs something beyond mere vibes to grasp onto. It’s here that Coppola seems to fall short in the telling of a story that pierces beyond speculation about when a teenage girl becomes enveloped by adult rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley.

The film opens with a gorgeous montage filled with teenage girlhood magic. There’s almost a pastel pink veil over the film. We see perfectly manicured feet adorned with a blushful pink nail color stepping onto the shag carpet. This is our introduction to a young girl named Priscilla Beaulieu, who lives on a German army base with her family. Before long, Priscilla is invited to a party where she meets Elvis, and unbeknownst to her, her life is never the same.

Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla proved to be an excellent choice. Spaeny personified a young and naive girl whose adolescence was evident, which made Elvis’ grooming even more apparent. The film somewhat teases this fine line of whether or not this relationship was inappropriate when the facts are that he met Priscilla as a minor and courted her until she was of age to marry.

While the film may have given us a look at Elvis from Priscilla’s perspective, it neglected to give us Priscilla. Despite the film’s title, Priscilla doesn’t seem to be the focus of her own story. It’s not far-fetched to pair Baz Luhrman’s Elvis with Copala’s Priscilla because both films revolve around Elvis. In Lurhman’s film, we see the superstar. In Coppola’s film, we see the man unveiled through the eyes of Priscilla, yet those eyes never self-reflect; we don’t get any insight into whom those eyes belong.

Courtesy of A24

In the film, it’s clear that Elvis beguiled Priscilla under the guise of a lonely and vulnerable friend. This unmasked version of the icon is what drew Priscilla into his charm. The film also emphasizes that while they spent nights together, they allegedly didn’t have actual intercourse until after she was eighteen and they were married. However, that’s difficult to believe.

The main accomplishment of this film is how lonely Priscilla’s life must’ve been. The film is practically void of human contact as our leading lady spends most of her time waiting for Elvis. Everything was dull, boring, and lifeless until he entered the scene. Graceland was a wasteland without Elvis. Priscilla was a toy placed on the shelf, taken out when Elvis was ready to play.

Sofia Coppola’s aesthetic works well in Priscilla, the story of a young girl enveloped by Elvis Presley. Her soft touch can be felt in how Priscilla’s character is presented. Not all questions were answered, and the narrative only scratched the surface. Still, Coppola offers an interesting perspective of the iconic star through the eyes of Priscilla.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars