_{By: Amanda Guarragi}

When children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, some tend to gravitate towards fame. They want to be famous. To be known and be loved by all. Little do they know that when they achieve that level of fame, they are put on a pedestal and adoring fans can have rose-coloured glasses with their favourite celebrity. Specifically, teenagers tend to develop a parasocial relationship with older actors or musicians. They tend to live in this fantasy that they can be with a superstar and be whatever they need. The key word here is “fantasy,” so what happens when that fantasy becomes a reality? In Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola, we see how vulnerability, obsession and yearning can be mishandled by an older man who has conditioned a young girl to only be with him. Coppola expertly weaves the loss of innocence with the status and price of fame through Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu’s relationship. 

The film is based on Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me. Each chapter depicts a different side of Elvis that the world didn’t get a chance to see. At fourteen, Priscilla became close to Elvis while living in Germany. She was the only American he had seen in a while, and he became lonely. He wanted to talk to someone from back home, and it ended up being Priscilla. Coppola explores loneliness and how it can lead to an unhealthy attachment. It was Priscilla feeling needed by the King of Rock’n Roll and Elvis filling the void in his heart after losing his mother. At that time, Priscilla felt like the luckiest girl alive to be the “chosen one” for Elvis to confide in and want by his side. Elvis emotionally connects with Priscilla because of his loneliness, and due to the ten-year age gap between them, Priscilla was not at a level of emotional intelligence to handle his issues. At that time, no one knew what grooming was, and as Coppola explores their relationship, the moments between them clearly show the toxicity of their union. 

Coppola set the fantasy of Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) early on, with Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) being asked how she felt about him. She said what every other girl at the time would say about him: his music is incredible, he’s handsome, and everyone loves him. When Priscilla was escorted to Presley’s base in Germany, that’s when the fantasy began. Without even opening his mouth, Elordi embodied the essence of Elvis with his mannerisms and the way he carried himself. And when he did speak, that Southern drawl could charm anyone. Spaeny’s performance from a naive and vulnerable fourteen-year-old to an emotionally mature adult was flawless. Spaeny’s doe-eyed innocence at the beginning slowly turns to a sexual hunger and then pure emptiness. In the book, Priscilla explains that her sexuality as a woman was stifled because she couldn’t explore her desires as a normal teenager would have. She was moulded into the perfect wife by Elvis, and she had no freedom to choose her path in life. 

When you’re young, you don’t realize that a situation was wrong until you’re an adult and think back on those moments. Some memories might even be repressed without you even knowing. Your mind can twist situations to make those moments feel less harmful. Coppola structured this as a coming-of-age film and destroyed the fantasy of being in a relationship with a superstar and an older man. Coppola tastefully navigated Priscilla’s encounters with Elvis by having a balance of charming moments and manipulative ones. Elvis made Priscilla feel that his love was conditional, and the older she got, the more outspoken she became. Slowly, Spaeny went from an innocent little teenager to a woman who knew what she wanted. Coppola kept the frame on Spaeny whenever Elordi would have random outbursts. It felt as if he was slowly chipping away at her spirit, and Spaeny conveyed that beautifully with an increasing emptiness in her eyes. 

This film made me incredibly emotional because I saw my past self in Priscilla. Being young and infatuated with someone charming can be damaging in the long run. When you’re a teenager, you don’t have the emotional capacity to handle adult issues. Your hormones are raging, and you think you know everything. No one prepares you for infatuation. And many mistaken that for love. Like Priscilla, she changed for Elvis; her dark hair, the bold makeup, the risqué outfits, all because he wanted her to look a certain way. And if she didn’t do what he asked, he would dangle their relationship as if being with him was the only way she could live. The way he kept her “virginal” until she was of legal age was illogical because he could have just let her go. Elvis would be in other sexual relationships but wouldn’t let Priscilla have her own experiences either. Spaeny had this longing in her voice whenever she was on the phone with Elordi. He kept her there for company and trained her to be at his beck and call. Coppola did not shy away from showing the abuse Priscilla faced. Even though in Priscilla’s mind, it was masked by hopefulness that she would forever be his. The cinematography by Philippe Le Sourd was gorgeous as he crafted a dreamlike atmosphere for Spaeny to step into her femininity while having the soul-crushing realization that the man she was in a relationship with wasn’t the same man she knew in Germany. 

There is always that one moment where the perception of the person you once knew comes crashing down. And Coppola slowly peeled back those layers until Priscilla ultimately left Elvis because she wanted her own life. She would always come second to the love and adoration of his fans, which was unfair to her. It’s heartbreaking to see how much Priscilla wanted to be desired by Elvis, but he wouldn’t give any satisfaction. Continuously feeling like you’re not doing enough, yet you give your entire soul to the man you love can take a toll on one’s self-worth. It is an incredible piece of filmmaking for Coppola because she explores adolescence, fame, abuse of power, and female agency. Even the song choices were so calculated that the final needle drop would send chills down your spine. Priscilla, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, is a soul-shattering film. It explores how infatuation at a young age can destroy one’s innocence. Its dreamlike fantasy of meeting a superstar is completely shattered. Cailee Spaeny gives a star-making as Priscilla Beaulieu, and Jacob Elordi gives a mesmerizing performance as Elvis Presley.