This was so good but at the same time I don't think it lived up to what it easily could've been. I'm not the biggest fan of Sofia Coppola as I have never seen another movie of hers but this, but I obviously know who she is (mainly from the fact her father is Francis Ford Coppola), and I do really want to check out her other films but sadly I just have not gotten around to doing that yet. Films like Marie Antoinette, The Virgin Suicides, Lost In Translation, and The Bling Ring are all films that have been on my watchlist for years now but I've never just sat down and watched them. Although after being coerced into watching this by my girlfriend I am extremely looking forward to watching more do her films just because of how good this one was.
I have my problems with it as I don't think it's the best film ever but it's definitely a very good one that shines a light on Elvis in a very different way than anything I've ever heard before. I knew about Elvis' and Priscilla's relationship long before I ever watched this movie due to an Epic Rap Battle of History between Elvis and Michael Jackson where their relationship is mentioned. And I really like the way this movie portrays their relationship, as it was inherently very wrong and very flawed. Since Elvis used his status as an already famous rock star to manipulate the then young TEENAGER Priscilla Beaulieu into a relationship with him where he still cheated on her and anytime she'd try to say anything or do anything about it he'd scream at her, and threaten her with kicking her out of their house. Safe to say Elvis Presley wasn't the greatest guy, and I think this movie really shows that well.
I love that Priscilla herself was a part of the making of this film as well as the executive producer, the majority of events within are her own accounts of things that happened between the two, and I also presume she had some hand in helping Coppola write the script and giving her more recollections and events that occurred. And that none of the creators or actors shied away from showing the toxicity of their relationship. There are so many moments within this film where all I felt was discomfort and unease. From their very first meeting where it seemed like Priscilla was tracked down and targeted for Elvis, as she was "randomly" approached at a diner and invited to his house. The way he acted the entirety of the first time they were together and the fact he kissed her when she was 14 and he 24!? I mean I know the 50/60's must've been a different time but Jesus was this really something that wasn't extremely frowned upon back then, was pedophilia just like okay? The parents themselves have a little bit of pushback but not a whole lot which is what's even more questionable for me, the mom says on multiple occasions "maybe he met some girl his own age", she's very aware of the dynamic but still just lets her daughter go marry and have a child with this grown ass man.
Also the sheer amount of red flags this man had is insane, bro couldn't go a day without showing his true colors; even though, she took a very long time to realize it and still did all these things and went along with it to try and keep him happy. I think the first example of this is the way he reacts to her trying on dresses, he's very strict about what she can wear and tells her that he doesn't like one of them and to not wear stuff like that again, and then he immediately follows that up with telling her to dye her hair black and do darker eye makeup because it "brings out her eyes" more. Straight up bombarding her with drastic changes and starts controlling what she can and cannot wear off the bat. This only gets worse as he 1. Cheats on her multiple times and acts like she's crazy for getting upset and screams at her until she's a dry heaving mess before consoling her like he didn't just do that on purpose, and 2. Gets physically violent with her on more than one occasion, one time punching her in the face for pillow fighting "like a man" and another time throwing a chair at her head because she didn't love a song he made. Obviously this man is Prince Charming. And the absolute cherry on the cake was after having her change things about herself and then complimenting other girls about those things right in front of her.
Other than just the really well told story this movie has, the rest of it is fantastic as well. The direction from Coppola is excellent, the visuals of the entire thing are amazing; absolutely stunning colors that feel right at home in a movie like this, and by far the two best things about this movie is the music and the cast. The song choices for the film were genuinely perfect, fit the vibe of the 60's really well and were just all really good songs, plus the way Elvis talked about the Beatles was hilarious and shows just how narcissistic of a man he was talking about "we're in America". Although I am slightly sad that there wasn't a single Lana Del Ray song in this entire movie, I feel like her music fits the vibes here perfectly and her and Priscilla are strikingly similar in looks, plus her songs have been used in nearly every edit of this movie I've seen so, kind of funny American horror story had a song of hers but the movie that feels like it should have one didn't. And finally the casting was phenomenal, I still have not and honestly never plan to watch Austin Butler's Elvis but from everything I've seen Jacob Elordi (of Euphoria fame) played the part better, and didn't completely ruin his voice doing it. He sounds just like Elvis did in real life but of course with the hint of his real voice in there sometimes, but the accent was perfect and I can never take it seriously because of how utterly hilarious it is hearing him say "baby" or "daddy" so much. Also I feel like it goes without saying but Cailee Spaeny was perfect as Priscilla Presley herself, at the top of her game in every single scene and played the most emotional bits of the film like her life depended on it. I think this was the first film I've ever seen her in but I would like to see what else she ends up doing because her performance here was the best part of the movie as a whole.
Overall this was an amazing film, but it didn't live up to what it ultimately could've been. So much about the movie was amazing from the direction, cinematography, acting, costume design, music, and just the overall aesthetics of it all is what made it so enjoyable. But towards the end after the baby is born it really starts to speed through their life yet at the same time kind of drags. And then in all honesty it just ends out of nowhere, and I can't tell if it needed a longer runtime or just better pacing but after she turns 18 and they get married it's like it zoomed through the rest of their relationship, this isn't the worst thing and doesn't take away from my enjoyment but I do think there could've been more there to make it feel a little more complete. Though that's not the biggest complaint, because the rest of the movie was fantastic.
Priscilla is a story about Priscilla Presley featuring Elvis. It showcases the negative relationship they had and how he treated her throughout it, cheating, manipulating, physically and verbally abusing her to the point she couldn't take it anymore and finally after seven years married, during the years 1967 to 1973, and 14 years in total of being together; Priscilla Presley left him. Like the quote in the beginning to live her own life not shackled and controlled by him anymore, as she had been groomed by him and lost her childhood to fulfill his wishes. A story about abuse and manipulation between one of the biggest rock stars ever and a literal child. It's heartbreaking and genuinely disgusting as you watch the events unfold. And I'm very happy she got out of that relationship. Priscilla is a movie showing Elvis Presley as a person, while Elvis seems to be a movie about showing Elvis as a rock star. This one feels better to me, and I'm glad this story got told in this pretty good and well made biopic. I recommend checking it out for yourself if you haven't already because it recently dropped on streaming. My girlfriend seemed to like it so that's good, and I need to check out more Sofia Coppola films. Also Jacob Elordi is nearly half a foot taller than the real Elvis, and seeing him stand next to things like a car is so funny because I have no idea how that man fits into these things. (Also also, we got a little glimpse of Elord dancing as Elvis and it was the funniest thing ever, I can't believe people literally fainted they thought those dance moves were so hot).
I have my problems with it as I don't think it's the best film ever but it's definitely a very good one that shines a light on Elvis in a very different way than anything I've ever heard before. I knew about Elvis' and Priscilla's relationship long before I ever watched this movie due to an Epic Rap Battle of History between Elvis and Michael Jackson where their relationship is mentioned. And I really like the way this movie portrays their relationship, as it was inherently very wrong and very flawed. Since Elvis used his status as an already famous rock star to manipulate the then young TEENAGER Priscilla Beaulieu into a relationship with him where he still cheated on her and anytime she'd try to say anything or do anything about it he'd scream at her, and threaten her with kicking her out of their house. Safe to say Elvis Presley wasn't the greatest guy, and I think this movie really shows that well.
I love that Priscilla herself was a part of the making of this film as well as the executive producer, the majority of events within are her own accounts of things that happened between the two, and I also presume she had some hand in helping Coppola write the script and giving her more recollections and events that occurred. And that none of the creators or actors shied away from showing the toxicity of their relationship. There are so many moments within this film where all I felt was discomfort and unease. From their very first meeting where it seemed like Priscilla was tracked down and targeted for Elvis, as she was "randomly" approached at a diner and invited to his house. The way he acted the entirety of the first time they were together and the fact he kissed her when she was 14 and he 24!? I mean I know the 50/60's must've been a different time but Jesus was this really something that wasn't extremely frowned upon back then, was pedophilia just like okay? The parents themselves have a little bit of pushback but not a whole lot which is what's even more questionable for me, the mom says on multiple occasions "maybe he met some girl his own age", she's very aware of the dynamic but still just lets her daughter go marry and have a child with this grown ass man.
Also the sheer amount of red flags this man had is insane, bro couldn't go a day without showing his true colors; even though, she took a very long time to realize it and still did all these things and went along with it to try and keep him happy. I think the first example of this is the way he reacts to her trying on dresses, he's very strict about what she can wear and tells her that he doesn't like one of them and to not wear stuff like that again, and then he immediately follows that up with telling her to dye her hair black and do darker eye makeup because it "brings out her eyes" more. Straight up bombarding her with drastic changes and starts controlling what she can and cannot wear off the bat. This only gets worse as he 1. Cheats on her multiple times and acts like she's crazy for getting upset and screams at her until she's a dry heaving mess before consoling her like he didn't just do that on purpose, and 2. Gets physically violent with her on more than one occasion, one time punching her in the face for pillow fighting "like a man" and another time throwing a chair at her head because she didn't love a song he made. Obviously this man is Prince Charming. And the absolute cherry on the cake was after having her change things about herself and then complimenting other girls about those things right in front of her.
Other than just the really well told story this movie has, the rest of it is fantastic as well. The direction from Coppola is excellent, the visuals of the entire thing are amazing; absolutely stunning colors that feel right at home in a movie like this, and by far the two best things about this movie is the music and the cast. The song choices for the film were genuinely perfect, fit the vibe of the 60's really well and were just all really good songs, plus the way Elvis talked about the Beatles was hilarious and shows just how narcissistic of a man he was talking about "we're in America". Although I am slightly sad that there wasn't a single Lana Del Ray song in this entire movie, I feel like her music fits the vibes here perfectly and her and Priscilla are strikingly similar in looks, plus her songs have been used in nearly every edit of this movie I've seen so, kind of funny American horror story had a song of hers but the movie that feels like it should have one didn't. And finally the casting was phenomenal, I still have not and honestly never plan to watch Austin Butler's Elvis but from everything I've seen Jacob Elordi (of Euphoria fame) played the part better, and didn't completely ruin his voice doing it. He sounds just like Elvis did in real life but of course with the hint of his real voice in there sometimes, but the accent was perfect and I can never take it seriously because of how utterly hilarious it is hearing him say "baby" or "daddy" so much. Also I feel like it goes without saying but Cailee Spaeny was perfect as Priscilla Presley herself, at the top of her game in every single scene and played the most emotional bits of the film like her life depended on it. I think this was the first film I've ever seen her in but I would like to see what else she ends up doing because her performance here was the best part of the movie as a whole.
Overall this was an amazing film, but it didn't live up to what it ultimately could've been. So much about the movie was amazing from the direction, cinematography, acting, costume design, music, and just the overall aesthetics of it all is what made it so enjoyable. But towards the end after the baby is born it really starts to speed through their life yet at the same time kind of drags. And then in all honesty it just ends out of nowhere, and I can't tell if it needed a longer runtime or just better pacing but after she turns 18 and they get married it's like it zoomed through the rest of their relationship, this isn't the worst thing and doesn't take away from my enjoyment but I do think there could've been more there to make it feel a little more complete. Though that's not the biggest complaint, because the rest of the movie was fantastic.
Priscilla is a story about Priscilla Presley featuring Elvis. It showcases the negative relationship they had and how he treated her throughout it, cheating, manipulating, physically and verbally abusing her to the point she couldn't take it anymore and finally after seven years married, during the years 1967 to 1973, and 14 years in total of being together; Priscilla Presley left him. Like the quote in the beginning to live her own life not shackled and controlled by him anymore, as she had been groomed by him and lost her childhood to fulfill his wishes. A story about abuse and manipulation between one of the biggest rock stars ever and a literal child. It's heartbreaking and genuinely disgusting as you watch the events unfold. And I'm very happy she got out of that relationship. Priscilla is a movie showing Elvis Presley as a person, while Elvis seems to be a movie about showing Elvis as a rock star. This one feels better to me, and I'm glad this story got told in this pretty good and well made biopic. I recommend checking it out for yourself if you haven't already because it recently dropped on streaming. My girlfriend seemed to like it so that's good, and I need to check out more Sofia Coppola films. Also Jacob Elordi is nearly half a foot taller than the real Elvis, and seeing him stand next to things like a car is so funny because I have no idea how that man fits into these things. (Also also, we got a little glimpse of Elord dancing as Elvis and it was the funniest thing ever, I can't believe people literally fainted they thought those dance moves were so hot).
