Why Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ Is a Slap in the Face

Elvis Presley may have been the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll but he was never the king of movies. Continuing that tradition, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla has some brilliant filmmaking and, sadly, horrible writing. It’s a crying shame, because the film would have been vastly improved with a few simple changes. In fact, it could have been a lot better if it was closer to the book that inspired it.

Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ feels insulting to the audience

Priscilla is based on Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir of her relationship with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. It edits the book down to Elvis’ most unsympathetic moments, such as the time he threw a chair at Priscilla and his affair with Ann-Margret. Over its 113 minutes, the movie never develops much momentum, feeling more like a collection of vignettes than a plot.

In the next-to-last scene, Priscilla decides she can’t be with Elvis anymore. In the final sequence, she drives away from Graceland. The ending here is so abrupt it feels like a slap in the face to the audience.

The movie should have used an important arc from ‘Elvis and Me’

Priscilla wastes great leading performances from Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis. The cinematography is lush, the set-dressing is eye candy, and the use of music is evocative, even if it’s light on the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s hits. But it feels pointless.

If the point of the film was to highlight how Priscilla found the strength within her to end her marriage, it should have been built up. Instead, the movie plays it like she just woke up one day and decided it was all over. Elvis and Me highlights that personal arc, but Priscilla is more interested in pastel visuals than in chronicling its protagonist’s growth. It’s high-school-level writing coming from an acclaimed writer-director.

Sofia Coppola said the movie was Elvis Presley’s world from his wife’s perspective

During a 2022 interview with Vogue, Coppola discussed what drew her to adapt Elvis and Me in the first place. “I’ve had her memoir for years and remember reading it a long time ago,” she recalled. “A friend of mine was talking about her recently, and we got around to discussing the book. I read it again and was really moved by her story.

“I was supposed to start this big Edith Wharton project that was gonna take five months to shoot and felt really daunting,” she continued. “I came up against a few hurdles, so I just decided to pivot to making one film with one idea. I was just so interested in Priscilla’s story and her perspective on what it all felt like to grow up as a teenager in Graceland. She was going through all the stages of young womanhood in such an amplified world.”

Coppola discussed adapting Elvis and Me for the screen. “It’s all from her perspective of being in this wholly unique world at the height of Elvis’ fame,” she said. “The memoir was hard to edit down because there are so many incredible details, but we’re making a low-budget film.”

If only Coppola had done her editing in the right places.