Giada Amendolara '25
The life story of Elvis Presley has been told many times, but in the movie Priscilla, it becomes a very different story. The movie Priscilla is a 2023 biographical drama written, directed, and co-produced by Sofia Coppola. The movie is based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley. The movie Elvis is a 2022 biographical drama film co-produced and directed by Baz Luhrmann. The same events are interpreted very differently in the two movies.
Priscilla explores the relationship between Elvis and Priscilla Presley from her perspective. The movie trailer shows the negative sides of their relationship, including drug use, fighting, and cheating. The movie does not skip over the fact that Elvis met Priscilla when she was just 14 and he was 24. One of the most controversial issues in Elvis's life is his romance and relationship with Priscilla.
Priscilla paints a less-than-positive picture of Elvis. He is shown as controlling and insecure. On the other hand, Priscilla is painted as a star-struck teenager who has not yet come to terms with who she is, wants to please Elvis, and tries to do whatever he asks of her.
According to the Financial Times, “The Elvis estate is not happy,” says Coppola, who seems unbothered, even amused, at the possibility of an Elvis film without a single song by the King. “I remember Priscilla’s manager saying, ‘The Elvis fans are not going to like certain things (https://www.ft.com/content/ac67670e-f530-41b1-9283-0b495a5ef847).”
Elvis (2022) is a glossy showing of Elvis’s life. Elvis briefly shows his early life and his musical career, and what it really focuses on is his relationship with his manager Colonel Parker. The movie is told through the lens of Colonel Tom Parker. It never addresses his real relationship with Priscilla, and her exact age is never mentioned. According to the movie, they meet, fall in love, and eventually have a fairytale wedding. They are shown having a great relationship until Elvis's deterioration forces Priscilla to divorce him. Priscilla is considered a minor character in the movie.
The story of Elvis and Priscilla has been shown from many different perspectives, but this movie is the first movie to show it through Priscilla’s words and through her eyes. We see Elvis only as Priscilla did, sometimes loving and kind and sometimes controlling and mean.
Priscilla does not ignore the question,” Why would a 24-year-old superstar be interested in a 14-year-old ninth-grade girl?” The idea of this relationship is hard for many people to understand and was ignored in Elvis.
The version of Elvis that Priscilla shows is completely different from the rock and roll legend that many people idolize and the Elvis who was portrayed in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
Comments