‘Priscilla’ Highlights an Important Detail That ‘Elvis’ Completely Ignores

The Big Picture

• Priscilla
  offers a nuanced portrayal of Elvis’ marriage focusing on Priscilla’s perspective and struggles.
• The film avoids glamorizing Elvis, depicting a 14-year-old Priscilla’s unsettling relationship with him.
• The lack of Elvis’ music in
  Priscilla
  allows the film to deconstruct the more problematic aspects of his life.

Any biopic of a beloved musician has to deal with certain conceits. In most cases, it’s impossible to tell the story of a beloved performer without using their established catalog of songs. This generally requires the cooperation of the artist or their respective estate, who generally want creative control over how the film depicts their story. This was the case with Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, which was produced in cooperation with the Presley estate. The film became a box office sensation and Academy Award nominee for Best Picture, earning rave responses due to its depiction of how talented yet mistreated the “The King” was. While Elvis is an entertaining tribute to the titular music legend, it’s hardly a probing dissection of the more problematic aspects of Elvis’ life. However, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla attempts to right some of Elvis’ wrongs by providing a more thoughtful depiction of the relationship between Presley (Jacob Elordi) and his wife, Priscilla Ann Wagner (Cailee Spaeny). Among the many aspects of their marriage that are highlighted in Priscilla, but completely ignored in Elvis, is the significant age difference between the couple.

How Much of ‘Priscilla’ Is True?

Priscilla was 14 years old when she first met Elvis at his home in West Germany in 1959. Priscilla’s father, Paul Beaulieu, was serving in the United States Air Force at the same time that the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” had been serving in the United States Army. Priscilla was invited into Elvis’ inner circle at a party, and the two continued to see each other during the extent of his service. As detailed in Priscilla’s autobiography Elvis & Me, which served as the primary inspiration for Priscilla, the relationship was not always a happy one. The couple frequently sparred over Elvis’ womanizing, his intolerable rage, the corrupting influence of Colonel Tom Parker, and Priscilla’s independence. The couple officially wed in 1967 and divorced in 1973.

During Priscilla’s world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the real Priscilla noted that Elvis was “respectful” of her youth when they first met. She stated that it had been “very difficult for my parents to understand that Elvis would be so interested in me and I really do think because I was more of a listener,” and that the late singer “would pour his heart out to me, his fears, his hopes, the loss of his mother which he never ever got over, and I was the person who really really sat there to listen and to comfort him.” Despite Priscilla’s generous comments about her late husband, she noted that Coppola “did her homework” in preparation for her film. She stated that it was a difference in lifestyle and not a loss of affection that ended up dooming their relationship in its last days. Both Elvis and Priscilla detail Elvis’ struggles in the film industry, as he was creatively frustrated by the films he was starring in.

Elvis died of a prescription drug overdose in 1977, shortly after a much-publicized comeback stint performing in Las Vegas casinos. In the aftermath, Priscilla served as the co-founder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterprises, which transformed Elvis’ former studio in Graceland into a significant tourist destination for fans of the singer’s work. However, Pricilla’s legacy isn’t just tied to her husband; she co-starred with Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun films, showing her true talents as an actress.

‘Priscilla’ Does Not Glamorize Elvis

Priscilla is less of a biopic about the wife of a famous artist, and more of a coming-of-age story about a woman realizing her potential. Priscilla opens not with Elvis, but with a series of moments showing what its subject’s life was like during her upbringing in West Germany. While we know that she will go on to become an icon in her own right, the film makes sure to present her as an average teenager who just so happens to find herself acquainted with the biggest star in the world. The film shows how Elvis’ military connections allowed him to hold massive celebrations to which he would invite young women. Their early courtship is very unnerving due to the fact that she is 14 and he’s 24, regardless of Elordi’s charisma.

Elvis’ absence during his military service may have only been a few brief years for him, but it has a demonstrably different effect on Priscilla. Priscilla is left at home in the months that Elvis is serving overseas and spends nearly every waking moment trying to remember the precious moments that she shared with him. Coppola shows how hard it is for her to adjust to a normal life after being charmed by the biggest star in the world. After being attended to by the King of Rock, how could any boy at her school compare? There’s a particularly interesting moment in Priscilla when she advises Elvis to not attend her high school graduation. It goes without saying that an appearance by the world’s biggest superstar might draw attention away from the actual graduates.

Unsurprisingly, Pricilla’s more nuanced depiction of Elvis’ life meant that it could not obtain the rights to use his music. This forced Coppola to use modern music, similar to what she did with her 2008 biopic Marie Antoinette. Using non-Elvis music actually makes Priscilla a stronger film, as it allows its star to define her own legacy. Using Elvis’ music may have generated too much goodwill for Elvis himself, making Coppola’s deconstruction of the problematic elements of his lifeless effective.

Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ Ignores the Problematic Aspects of His Relationships

Although Elvis features many inaccuracies, it’s more guilty of ignoring Pricilla than it is of misrepresenting her. The initial meeting between the two plays out in a similar manner in Elvis as it does in Priscilla, but feels like it comes from Elvis’ perspective. Elvis doesn’t pay much attention to the age difference because he is so intent on jumping from one visually bombastic musical sequence to another. Priscilla, like many of the other characters in Elvis’ life, is left in the shadows. This is a considerable flaw with not just Elvis, but a majority of the creative works made about his life. While John Carpenter’s 1979 television biopic Elvis starring Kurt Russell is less stylized than the 2022 film, it pays just as little attention to Priscilla. Coppola’s film reveals how important it is to consider the perspective of those closest to cultural icons, something Luhrmann completely avoids.

Priscilla is available to stream on Max.

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