Title: Priscilla
Year: 2023
Director: Sofia Coppola
country: US
Language: English
Priscilla (2023) is the antithesis to Baz Luhrmann's Elvis (2022) in both style and substance. Elvis is a flashy stylish popcorn picture, whereas Priscilla is a deliberately paced slow burn. Elvis paints the King of Rock as a victim of his own success, whereas Priscilla is a scathing critique of the man, and an exploration of his doomed marriage.
Through Priscilla's (Cailee Spaeny) eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis (Jacob Elordi) and Priscilla's long courtship and turbulent marriage,
After decades of Elvis worship, we finally get a film that is critical of the Graceland singer. Priscilla is an education in grooming and toxic masculinity. Elvis sought out young women because he could control them & make them look the way he wanted. When they meet, Priscilla is in 9th grade and she looks like a preteen. It is creepy.
The soundtrack resists using Elvis' work and instead draw out discomfort and alienation. The cinematography, costume design and production design give Priscilla the look of a subdued period piece. The screenplay does a tremendous job at building Priscilla's character arc.
Spaeny's performance in Priscilla is remarkable, I hope she gets nominated for an Oscar. Like Spencer (2021) before it, Coppola's film is important for decontextualizing misunderstood women and giving them a stage to tell their story. More need to be made.
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