Priscilla: Finally, Her Perspective

Sophia Chilelli ‘24

Associate Editor 

     On October 27, Priscilla hit theaters around the world. Directed by Sofia Coppola, approved by Priscilla Presley, and based on the book Elvis and Me written by Priscilla Presley herself, the movie shows the marriage between Elvis and Priscilla through her perspective. 

     The movie starts when Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) first meets Elvis (Jacob Elordi). From the beginning, the audience is meant to feel uncomfortable about the age gap while also understanding how Priscilla fell so deeply in love. Being only fourteen at their meeting, ten years younger than Elvis, the parallels that came with dating an international superstar while being a high school student was beautifully portrayed through the use of Coppola’s aesthetically based directing style. Like in the segment, where the scene showed her learning geometry, interrupted by her date with Elvis. 

     In pursuit of showing Priscilla’s story, the movie focuses on the struggle the teenaged girl has with her own identity as Elvis tries to control it. He told her to wear more makeup and to dye her hair black. It was going so far as to do her own makeup while in labor. “It was tragic, it was like watching a slow motion car crash,” comments Anna Kucharik, a senior at Cape. 

     Opinions on the movie from Cape students varied. Senior, Julia Burkley, contends that “the pacing and the dialogue lacked, I felt as though there wasn’t much substance to the characters.” Agreeing, 12th grader Maya Thompson explained how she “didn’t like how little we saw of their personalities… I still don’t know who Priscilla is.” In contrast, Kucharik defends the movie, explaining that “there wasn’t much to be known about Priscilla, of course she didn’t have much of a personality her entire life from the age of fourteen was Elvis.” Although, disagreeing about the overall quality of the movie, all three concurred that the best part of the film was the visual aspect, Thompson described her favorite parts being the “costumes, makeup, hair and the cinematography.” 

    Averaging approximately 2.5 stars from Cape interviewees, Priscilla may not be for everyone, critiqued for its slow pacing and uncomfortable scenes, but the unique way in which Coppola portrays the life of a woman whose perspective had previously been overlooked certainty makes it worth seeing.