Priscilla - Movie Review

Critics Score - 8

General Audience Score - 8

Lana Del Rey has a song simply titled “Love”, in which she speaks about what it’s like growing up, getting dressed up and going out on dates, falling head over heels and as she says, “when you’re young, and in love”. It’s such a relatable sentiment but sadly, the inexperience of being that age and handling those feelings for the first time often leads to missteps, misjudgments and decisions that more often than not, do not result in happily ever after. That young love sentiment is perfectly encapsulated, and a lot of Lana Del Rey vibes in general, in the new A24 film Priscilla, a film that walks us through the fascinating early life of Priscilla Presley and her courtship to Elvis. Sofia Coppola artfully directs this nostalgic look into a time when society in general was more respectable and the expectation was that young men should have honorable intentions towards women. We watch these two starry eyed lovers gaze at each other with pure, unadulterated desires of a youthful romance, oh to be young again. Yet as the film passes into its second act, we start getting clues that not all is as it seems and watch as things begin taking a turn towards the dark and sinister behind the gates of Graceland. This film is visually stunning and equally as fascinating as we get to take a peek behind this celebrity curtain. Both the arthouse crowd and general audiences will likely find themselves wanting to fall in love all over again when they get a chance to meet Priscilla.

SYNOPSIS - As this voyage into the heart of Memphis, Tennessee begins, we get our opening shot of a woman’s feet, we assume it’s Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny), and watch her perfectly manicured toes as she walks across some plush, pink carpeting. The melodious strumming of a guitar and harp soften the mood as Alice Coltrane’s Goin Home begins to play and we next get an angled close up shot as Priscilla puts on her eye liner, making her signature dark, side eye swooshes. We observe more brief shots of nails, artificial eyelashes, hands with pink fingernails, then Cadillacs and chandeliers, glimpses of the life that was to come for young Priscilla. As the opening credits montage concludes, we’re transported back to the year 1959, to a U.S. Air Force base in West Germany where Priscilla’s father is stationed and we see a U.S. army eagle club style restaurant. As we enter the dimly lit dining area with a few scattered tables and customers, we see fifteen year old Priscilla, dark against the light streaming in from the windows behind her, she’s wearing a light pink sweater, sitting on a barstool and drinking a bottle of Coke with a straw. She turns around as a young officer starts speaking with her and he finally asks, “Do you like Elvis Presley?”, to which she responds, “Of course, who doesn’t?”. He explains that Elvis is a friend of his that’s stationed there and he enjoys seeing people from back home, that they’re going to Elvis’ house that weekend and invites Priscilla to accompany him and his wife. She looks at him coyly and explains that she’ll have to ask permission.

Needless to say, with some help of the officer, she’s able to overcome her parents initial objections, attend the gathering and finally as she enters the residence, she’s introduced to the tall and handsome Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi).  She takes a seat on the sofa, eventually Elvis comes over to speak to the pretty young Priscilla who explains that she’s from Austin, Texas and she’s in the ninth grade. Elvis gets pulled away for a moment and performs a piano rendition of Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, as she watches him perform from across the room, we’re able to step back into the shoes of our teenage selves and the dream we had of meeting our celebrity crush. But it’s not until she gets a personal invitation from Elvis to another party that, once there, he eventually invites her to his room, they get a chance to be alone and finally share their first kiss. The first few chords of Crimson And Clover by Tommy James & The Shondells queues up in the background and perfectly encapsulates the vibes this film exudes, any reservations we had about this movie are set aside and mentally we move our chips to the center of the table, we’re all in. The song plays on as she walks down the hallway at school the next day in her pink sweater, a slight smiles spreads across her mouth, she looks down in shyness as she thinks to herself that she’s kissed Elvis freaking Presley! And we’re right there on cloud nine with her. We spend the rest of the first act and part of the second watching them fall in love, but not before too long, with Elvis gone for long periods making movies, the telltale signs of a love in distress begin to haunt the lonely hallways of Graceland.

Sophia Coppola is a director that, although some missteps have occurred as I can’t say I’ve loved every film she's ever made, she’s definitely an excellent writer and director that has created some truly impressive pieces of art. Some of which are debatable masterpieces, with a couple exceptions. Priscilla is not one of those exceptions. Coppola tells us this story, which fits snugly right inside her wheelhouse, with the expertise and knowledge of a truly proficient director. Although the screenplay hits some if not most of the usual love story beats, it’s well crafted narrative takes us from the beginning to the end of this relationship with it’s glorious highs and agonizing lows along the way. The two leads, Spaeny and Elordi, are really putting on a show, Spaeny is seething raw talent, you can see the emotions run through her eyes in every shot and although Elordi won’t come anywhere near the Oscar stage like Austin Butler did last year, I actually preferred Elordi’s version. The film has some serious eye candy in it, from a strictly visual perspective, not only are these young actors gorgeous, the film around them has been painstakingly crafted to match them in beauty. The color palette of browns, pinks, blues and pastels from the time period are matched by the film’s soft tone that carries the distinctive feminine touch throughout it’s well paced runtime. The costumes are a relentless onslaught of patterns and recreations from popular looks that Elvis and Pricilla claimed. At one point Elvis takes Pricilla shopping and as she tries on different pieces and models them for him, we get a moment to just marvel at the details in the design and craftsmanship present. The production design is also flawless. As someone who has seen Graceland in person, when Priscilla steps in the front door of Elvis’s Graceland home with the long living rooms opening up to your right and left, I must assume they had the original home’s architectural plans to recreate this with such precision. Also the hair and makeup, again, beyond stunning from it’s opening sequence onward, without hesitation I’ll include this and the costume design in my early Oscar nomination predictions. It was also quite intellectually compelling that the music choices for the film were not Elvis songs, other than a few brief snippets, but instead we’re given killer period songs from the likes of Spectrum, Dolly Parton and Ramones. There’s just too much to enjoy about Priscilla that I can’t help but think about it when I consider my favorite films of 2023.

SUMMARY - From a technical perspective, Priscilla is a cinephile’s paradise, this film looks and feels like a dream, one that you’re happy to be swept up in. But the beating heart of this film lies in it’s love story and it’s intoxicating youthful exuberance, and that’s one that general audiences will welcome as they visit Graceland and spend some time with Priscilla.