Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA is a biopic done right. The film chronicles Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis Presley, from when she met the singer to the eventual end of their relationship. PRISCILLA is tense, realistic, and has a sense of unease. But it’s no thriller; the film is a quiet, slow burn – pretty much the opposite of last year’s awful ELVIS.
Coppola makes Graceland feel like when your parents are running late to pick you up from school or when you need to miss a happy hour with your friends to finish up work at the office. Cailee Spaeny, as the titular Priscilla, brings so much depth and reliability to the character. Elvis (Jacob Elordi) isn’t the antagonist you may expect here; it doesn’t seem like he’s cast in a particularly negative light. Instead, most portrayals show him through rose-colored lenses, while this film’s approach feels much more authentic.
And it’s the authenticity of PRISCILLA that sets it apart. Unlike most in its genre, this film avoids all major pitfalls; it doesn’t deify its subject, it doesn’t try to cram an entire lifetime into a cohesive story, and, most importantly, it shows rather than tells – watching this film and reading Priscilla Presley’s Wikipedia page are wildly different experiences, which is more than I can say for most biopics.
PRISCILLA is now playing in theaters.
