When I was 15, I fell in love for the first time. It was the head-over-heels, smitten like a kitten, struck by cupid’s arrow type of feeling I had only dreamed of before. The object of my affection? None other than Sofia Coppola’s 1999 debut film The Virgin Suicides.
I had never seen teenage angst packaged in such a visually compelling way. Shot through the lens of the male gaze, the enigmatic Lisbon sisters transformed into the storybook princesses next door and unravelled in hues of effervescent gold and melancholic blue. I was absolutely enamored: it was love at first sight.
My Sofia Coppola infatuation continued with her 2006 masterpiece Marie Antoinette (HUGE thank you to whoever made it free on Youtube). Maybe it’s her magnum opus or maybe it’s just in my top 4 on Letterboxd. Either way, Marie Antoinette flipped my knowledge of the French Revolution on its head. Coppola humanized a historically-hated woman into the feeling, beating-heart girl she actually was…all while making me want to prance through a field in a ballgown and eat a copious amount of pastel-colored pastries.
When I found out about Coppola’s Priscilla, I pined away until its release day finally arrived. With a Cola Icee in hand and “should i become an amc stubs a-lister” in my Google search history, I settled in to watch my most anticipated film of the year.
And honestly, I just can’t stop thinking about Priscilla. This may be a hot take, but I would say that it is by far my favorite movie of 2023. So brace yourself for three totally biased (but SPOILER FREE) ways you too will adore Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla.
And no, I will not be engaging in any comparisons to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis because Austin Butler’s press appearances icked me out to the point that I still refuse to watch that movie (in solidarity with Vanessa Hudgens).
- Feast your Eyes on Visual Storytelling
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Like its sister films, Priscilla is an idyllic depiction of a girlhood spent in isolation. Priscilla anchors itself to the emotional turmoil of a female lead who comes of age in an environment to which she does not entirely belong.
Similar to Marie Antoinette, the lush set design and delicate color palette present the world of Priscilla Presley as a sphere of hyper-femininity. However, Coppola bursts this bubble with the addition of thematic elements like destructive relationships and intoxicating fame. Through murky rose colored glasses, audiences must consider whether Priscilla‘s universe of Chanel dresses and immaculate eyeliner is truly a setting tailored to the desires of its heroine or if it is instead a petri dish of gendered control which empowers her male counterparts.
Coppola complicates this question through her purposeful use of clothing, makeup and hair as a storytelling device. Because the movie takes place from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, fashion in Priscilla creates a clearer chronological timeline of events. From school girl chic in the 50s to Hollywood glam in the 60s to laidback elegance in the 70s, Priscilla’s clothes are a time machine to the runways of America’s past.
But beyond just marking the passage of time, Priscilla‘s styling choices expose Priscilla’s attachment to Elvis and herself. Because her understanding of womanhood was heavily influenced by Elvis’s vision of the perfect wife, Priscilla’s changing appearance serves as an external representation of her internal thoughts and feelings. By the time the credits roll, Priscilla has not only undergone a style transformation, but she has endured a complicated journey towards developing her sense of personal identity.
- Fall for the Captivating Leads
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Because the standard for Sofia Coppola’s leading ladies is the wildly talented (and arguably underrated) Kirsten Dunst, I set my expectations for Priscilla‘s heroine extremely high. Although I was unfamiliar with her before watching this film, the spectacular Cailee Spaeny knocks it out of the park as Priscilla Presley.
Spaeny’s Priscilla does not specialize in lengthy monologues nor death-defying stunts; rather, her power stems from unspoken emotional performances conveyed by facial expressions and body language alone. My favorite shots from Sofia Coppola’s filmography are the ones which linger on their female lead’s face without the interruption of dialogue. The overarching conflict of Priscilla is unfurled through these signature emotional focuses, gifting Spaeny with the liberty to beautifully tell an entire story with her eyes alone.
Besides showcasing her masterful face acting, Spaeny’s emphasis on the unsaid in her performance provides greater insight into Priscilla’s identity. As the wife to a household name in American music, Priscilla experienced a close proximity to the spotlight yet occupied the shadows in the absence of Elvis. In grappling with a life in which her beauty is her primary form of currency and her voice often goes unheard, Spaeny’s Priscilla thrives in moments of silence and harnesses nuggets of dialogue as valuable mechanisms for character growth.
But don’t get me wrong — I wasn’t blindly trusting Coppola’s casting choices. When I first heard that Jacob Elordi would be playing Elvis, I was skeptical. How would Mr. Nate Jacobs himself convincingly play one of the most recognizable American icons? But then I remembered – if he could reinvent himself from his Kissing Booth days, maybe Elordi had a little “Hound Dog” in him somewhere.
Despite nonchalantly claiming to source his Elvis knowledge from Lilo and Stitch, Elordi’s Elvis is addictive: even in his most manipulative moments, Elordi exudes a charm that left me forgiving him right alongside Priscilla. Even the real Priscilla herself said she was shocked by how well Elordi captured the signature Elvis twang. Your move, Butler.
Beyond their compelling performances, I think the two leads were perfectly cast for another (unexpected) reason: their height difference. At 6’5, Elordi is much taller than the real Elvis and towers over his 5’1 costar. However, this “historical inaccuracy” actually strengthens Coppola’s storytelling (much like those controversial baby blue Converse in Marie Antoinette, but that’s another article).
Priscilla met a 24-year-old Elvis Presley at just fourteen. Rather than casting different actresses to play a younger and older Priscilla, Coppola marks this considerable age gap through an equally sizable height difference between her lead actors. Besides representing their disparate levels of maturity, the juxtaposition of Elordi’s tall stature with Spaeny’s petite frame similarly underscores the role of fame in their relationship. In falling for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Priscilla enters a dazzling world of power and scandal which she is innately unable to understand: Elvis’s celebrity status only exacerbated existing disparities in their roles as equal partners. The physical height difference between Spaeny and Elordi potently confronts audiences with the equally disproportionate emotional power imbalance which undercuts Priscilla and Elvis’s romance.
- Get Swept away by the Soundtrack
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Even if Sofia Coppola isn’t your jam, you have to admit she never misses with her soundtracks. Just as much as fashion is integral to her storytelling, Coppola’s song selections breathe life into her films. Every time I hear “Magic Man” by Heart, I can’t help but think of Trip Fontaine.
So even though I’m still a little
betrayedheartbroken by the Lana del Rey feature that never was, the Priscilla soundtrack is nothing short of iconic. Blending 1960s love songs with dreamy instrumental tracks, the music from Priscilla can transport anyone straight to Graceland.My favorites off of the soundtrack are “Baby, I Love You” by Ramones, “Crimson & Clover” by Tommy James & The Shondells and “My Elixir” by Sons of Raphael. And Priscilla‘s use of “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton has joined my list of favorite song-driven movie scenes.
Above all else, Priscilla is as much an ode to Classic Americana as it is a teenage dream. But this is no fairytale film of celebrity romance: rather, it is a timeless tale of girlhood lost and of girlhood found. So if you’re not crushing hard just yet (or at the very least wanting to support a kickass female director), go see Priscilla in theaters now to find your cinematic soulmate.