1959, Germany. 14 year old schoolgirl Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny), is invited to a party at the home of 24-year-old singer Elvis Presley, who bears the surname of his stepfather, who was an Air Force officer in Beaulieu at the time. (Jacob Elordi), who did military service in these regions (the artist was drafted into the army at the height of his fame). He immediately sets his sights on the girl and a romantic relationship quickly begins between them. Presley would later move Priscilla (still a schoolgirl) to his mansion in Graceland and marry her, and the girl would become the mother of the musician’s only child, Lisa Marie Presley.
In spades, Priscilla is a movie about pedophilia and grooming (the process by which an adult establishes close, intimate relationships with a child, “raising” him “for himself” with the goal of seducing him later). But such things tend not to be called by their proper name, especially when we are talking about “kings”. All four wives of the “king of comedy” Charlie Chaplin were young (between 12 and 18 years old; more accurately, one was already 22 years old, but Chaplin was lied to that she was 17) at the time the relationship began. The “King of Pop” Michael Jackson (one of the husbands of Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley) has been repeatedly accused of pedophilia, but largely to no avail. The history of the “King of Rock and Roll” Elvis Presley is not that extensive, but it is not a matter of quantity, to say the least, and it is difficult to categorize the relationship of a 24-year-old man with a 14-year-old man. – year old girl is different.
“Priscilla”, for all its sincerity, manages to show well the situation in society in general (not only in American society, but in general: let’s keep in mind Tsoi’s song “Eighth Grade Girl”). Point A: The little girl is actually given to the famous singer as a birthday present. Point B: The woman leaves and the man never learns that she is not something that can be gained or lost, that he can leave her at home like a doll and use her at his mood and discretion. The path from point “A” to point “B” passes through the silent, emphatic passive consent of others. These people around him include the little girl’s parents (well, what can you do with her) and Elvis’ huge entourage (the press called this entourage the “Memphis Mafia”), which can only whisper what a little darling the artist is. There is (really very small).
Sofia Coppola resolutely refuses such orders and actually takes Priscilla Presley away from the golden cage in which she was forced to spend the last – the most important – years of her childhood. Out of hand – because Priscilla herself seems to have a less clear view of her own story, though she praised the film (though Lisa Marie, who died in 2023, ripped the script to shreds). Priscilla’s 1985 memoir was published under the title Elvis and Me, and the largest text on the cover of the book was the name “Elvis.” Coppola’s film, on the other hand, is proudly called “Priscilla” and even abandons the “royal” surname (but Russian distributors have their own ideas about beauty).
For all connoisseurs of conservative companion biopics, there was Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” last year, and “Priscilla” forms a duo with Coppola as if the first part was “Marie Antoinette” and remains somewhere in the zone. “Spencer” by Pablo Larraín (Kristen Stewart’s amazing performance as Princess Diana – and also a movie with a name ad in the title): no longer an adaptation of Wikipedia, but not yet an abstract fantasy like the song Personal Jesus (According to Depeche Mode member Martin Gore, the composition, which became one of the band’s main hits, was inspired by the book “Elvis and Me.”).
The film was shot with great difficulty (for example, just before the start of production, one of the sponsors dropped out, that is, $ 2 million of the $ 20 million budget – excluding a week of shooting), Elvis’ heirs did not allow it. The director will use his music. (In the margins, we point out that it is of course a shame not to give money to people with the surname Coppola for the film at the first snap of their fingers. Where is the favoritism you boast about when there is such a need?).
But the latter only seems to serve the desacralization point: without Presley’s songs, you can better hear the goosebumps all over your body at the sight of the bottomless darkness in the eyes of Jacob Elordi, who runs the administration. replacing unimaginable magnetism and strength with utter weak will (the singer’s manager, Tom “Colonel” Parker, is not visible in the frame and is only present as the pseudo-voice on the other end of the phone line, but he forms this void figure of an almost divine being with unlimited power).
But darkness is darkness, and Spaeny rules the roost here. This is a Biggest Role in a Career where rewards should be given to the culprit. In Venice, where the film Priscilla premiered, the actress received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress and was later nominated for a Golden Globe. But the Oscars also completely ignored the film’s existence (though to be fair the competition was fierce this year).
The 25-year-old artist (seemingly without any difficulties) experiences the greatest period in terms of personal metamorphosis between the ages of 14 and 27: Priscilla grows literally before our eyes, and it is impossible to take our eyes off her. In the spring, Spaeny will star in Alex Garland’s action movie “Fall of the Empire” (including Russia), and in the summer, Fede Alvarez’s sci-fi horror movie “Alien: Romulus” will be released. main role. So “Priscilla” is the last car of the outgoing train that follows the “I remember her before all this” route. See you at the next station.