In Priscilla, Jacob Elordi’s Elvis is fixing the biggest problem with Austin Butler’s 2022 portrayal of the King of Rock and Roll. Baz Luhrmann’s epic biographical drama, Elvis, glazed over details in favor of spectacle, and, as the title suggests, leaned into making Butler’s Presley the hero of the story. Now, Sofia Coppola’s film takes a different approach, centering the titular Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny) in the hopes of presenting a more rounded, honest view of the iconic musician she married.
Based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me, Coppola’s film traces over a decade of its eponymous character’s life, from the moment she met Elvis at a party through their contentious marriage. Presley, who serves as the executive producer of the movie, doesn’t flinch at depicting both the highs and lows of her relationship in Elvis and Me. Similarly, the Priscilla trailer teases Elvis’ dark side in a way Luhrmann’s film failed to capture. All of these indicators suggest that Jacob Elordi’s Elvis Presley will fix a huge misstep with Butler’s Oscar-nominated role.
Priscilla Calls Out The Problems With Elvis’ Romance That Austin Butler’s Movie Ignored
Unlike Austin Butler’s Elvis, Priscilla calls out the problems in Elvis’ infamous personal life. Worryingly, Priscilla was just 14 years old when she met Elvis while he was 24, making their decade-long age gap problematic from the start. “I was just so interested in… [Priscilla’s] perspective on what it all felt like to grow up as a teenager in Graceland,” Coppola told Vogue of the biopic. “She was going through all the stages of young womanhood in such an amplified world.” With Priscilla having no reservations about acknowledging Elvis’ controlling nature, it’s a stark contrast to Luhrmann’s over-the-top, glossed-over take.
While Elvis Presley had an undeniable impact on music and pop culture at large, he wasn’t just the sympathetic underdog-turned-icon that Elvis depicts him to be. Instead of approaching its protagonist candidly, Elvis makes the ruthless Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), Elvis’ manager, the sole villain of the story. Refreshingly, Coppola’s movie draws attention to the couple’s toxic relationship, all while illustrating Priscilla’s desire for agency and independence. Ultimately, Priscilla appears to take a more honest look at its characters’ real-life counterparts.
Priscilla Balances Its Sympathetic Portrayal Of Elvis Better Than Butler’s Movie
What really lends Priscilla credibility, however, is its more balanced take on the Presleys’ lives. Instead of painting things in a black-and-white manner, it looks like Coppola’s film will address how Parker mismanaged Elvis’ career, and also find room to explore his troubling, turbulent, and often problematic personal life. In examining giddy first love and the intensity of fame’s spotlight clash, Coppola’s movie promises to be a story that shows Elvis and Priscilla as naive young people who, in coming together, commit regrettable acts.
Sources: Vogue
