An innumerable amount of entertainment, both on the large & small screen, has told the story of the one and only Elvis Presley from beginning to end or some moments thereof. But I know of only two works that have told the story from the eyes of his only wife Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, whom he married in 1967 and divorced in 1973. The first was a 1988 ABC miniseries entitled Elvis & Me, based on Priscilla’s memoir of the same name. And now, Sofia Coppola has added Priscilla’s story to the big screen when she wrote, produced, and directed PRISCILLA for a 2023 release.
That 114-minute movie, distributed by A24, is now playing on HBO/Max. It debuted as the Saturday night movie on cable on February 24 and landed on the streamer the day prior. Viewers can be assured that the film is accurate as Priscilla Presley is still living and getting an executive producer credit on the movie, which, by the way, is also based on her memoir. Its star is Cailee Spaeny (MARE OF EASTTOWN) as the title character with Jacob Elordi (EUPHORIA) as Elvis.
As the story goes, in 1959 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu is residing with her family in West Germany, where her father is stationed in the U.S. Military. At a party on the base, Priscilla meets 24-year-old renowned singer Elvis Presley, who has been drafted into the military at the peak of his fame. Elvis takes an immediate interest in Priscilla, and the two begin casually dating despite her parents’ concern over their age difference and Elvis’s celebrity status. Elvis eventually returns to the United States after his service and loses contact with Priscilla, leaving her crestfallen. In 1962, Elvis reconnects with her, proclaiming his love for her, and asks that she come to the U.S. to live with him at Graceland. Thus, started a whirlwind relationship.
Most critics seemed to favor the work than not. NPR stated, “Coppola’s glistening and brooding dissection of Priscilla’s life with Elvis reveals a clear-eyed vision for depicting the intoxication of fame and how easily it’s wielded upon the young and impressionable.” AV Club noted, “Coppola’s film is fierce in its subtlety, relying
Coppola, Presley and Spaeny
on Spaeney’s breathtaking performance and the inherent tragedy of Priscilla’s story to deliver a film that’s equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking.” The San Francisco Chronicle didn’t care for it simply saying, “We’re left with a movie that mostly consists of a confused woman-child stumbling around a mansion in high heels.” Nor did Filmspotting, saying, “Coppola flips the biopic completely on its head and then commits the same sin that so many other conventional biopics do – she covers too much ground too quickly, and, ironically, doesn’t offer its main character the agency she deserves.” Priscilla & Elvis’s only child Lisa Marie Presley, who died in January of 2023, had the biggest dislike of it all when she read the script – “My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative. As his daughter, I don’t read this and see any of my father in this character. I don’t read this and see my mother’s perspective of my father. I read this and see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective and I don’t understand why?”
Are you on Elvis overload after Baz Luhrmann’s take or are you all in for PRISCILLA? If you are a huge all-things-Elvis kind of fan then this perspective on the legend should not be ignored. After all, it is as close to an insider’s story as you are going to get. Find it on HBO and Max.
