Queen of girly movies made from a woman's perspective, Sofia Coppola gives us her latest gem, Priscilla. The production rises to its high expectations, as Sofia's team reunites to create yet another masterpiece, with exquisite aesthetics, and intricate details.
The director always connected to Priscilla's journey, but when reading her memoir again, "Elvis and Me", she felt the need to tell her story. Sandra Harmon, who co-wrote the book with Priscilla in 1985, also collaborated in writing the adaptation with Coppola.
Receiving a 7-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, the A24 production places the audience in an observer position, experiencing everything for the first time as a 14-year-old girl. The focus is on Priscilla's point of view, discovering herself and life as the young girl who snatched the heart of the most wanted man on the planet at the time.
Starting in 1959, when Priscilla was 14 and Elvis 24, the film's timeline allows Coppola to play around the 60's style Americana theme, lavished in glamour and Elvis' lifestyle embellishments.
Priscilla Presley embarked on the production of the film trusting that Sofia could be faithful to her story while having a unique point of view—as the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola her own life was entangled to someone's media craze. Presley is an executive producer on the film and attended the Venice Film Festival with the director and actors Cailee Spaeny, and Jacob Elordi, who superbly played Priscilla and Elvis on screen.
Captured by cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd, the audience travels through the complex love story while the mood and colors change. Production designer Tamara Deverell, and costume designer Stacey Battat combined their efforts to translate the changes from Germany's cold grey, to bright shades representing Las Vegas and Graceland.
Fashion house Chanel, a long-term presence in Sofia's personal and professional life, collaborated to recreate Priscilla's iconic wedding dress from 1967, now imagined by Virginie Viard. Spaeny wears other Chanel outfits in the movie, as well as Chanel n° 5, marking the moment Priscilla embraces her femininity when moving to Graceland.
Premiering on November 3rd, the film delves into the discovery journey of a teenager chosen by the King of Rock and Roll to be his loving partner, and how it became a platonic chaste relationship, built on the love of a young girl for a showbiz tycoon ten years older than her. It’s an invitation to a romance full of controversy, curiosity, rage bursts, and deep tenderness.
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