“People think, oh it must be so great living with Elvis Presley, but I went through the ups and downs with him in a very crucial part of his life. His struggles, his fears. When you’re living with someone so famous, and you’ve been through it with them, it’s that part of privacy that’s hard to give up; it’s hard to share. I don’t want to give out too much because I want some of that myself. That’s just for me.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
Picture this: You’re 14, sitting at a diner, enjoying your time when an older gentleman approaches you. He asks if you’re a fan of Elvis Presley, and the answer is easy: YES! What teenage girl isn’t head over heels for the King of Rock’n’Roll? The following words out of his mouth feel like a fever dream. He informs you he’s attending Presley’s house tonight for a party and wants to know if you’re interested.
Sounds like the beginning of a fanfiction, right?
For Priscilla Wagner, this was only the beginning of a tumultuous relationship that would shape her into who she is today. During this time, she would experience high highs and low lows. She will fall in love for the first time, change up her appearance, learn what life is like in the limelight, experience the ugliness of a relationship, and become a mother. And Sofia Coppola takes you through all of it.
“When you have a movie about you, you never know how people are going to take it. You never know if people are going to understand it.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
The movie Priscilla, produced by A24 and directed by Sofia Coppola, brings you into the Presleys’ relationship and marriage through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl. You feel giddy, dazed, exhilarated, and heartbroken, and everything is encapsulated in the span of one hour and 50 minutes. The looks Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) gives Jacob Elordi (Elvis) is enough to tell the whole story alone.
Coppola is no stranger to depicting life as a woman. Known for her ethereal imagery and feminist direction, Coppola perfectly encapsulates the viewer in a utopian reality that makes you forget Priscilla and Elvis’s drastic age gap. You don’t forget about the age gap because it’s not blatantly obvious but because you see the experience through the eyes of a lovestruck teenager. Their love was passionate and vibrant, and to this day, Priscilla has never spoken ill of Elvis.
“He was a very special human being, and to be put in the position he was in, never expecting to be as big as he became, ya know, he loved to sing he loved to entertain people. Much to his surprise, he was received so well. I remember being in Las Vegas, and it was always so packed every single night.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
The movie is full of lovey-dovey scenes between Priscilla and Elvis. You see them laughing together constantly, witness emotionally intimate moments, and watch as they roll around on their bed, switching between playing like kids and kissing. The scenes are euphoric, and their love is palpable. Watching them feels like falling in love for the first time, looking into your partner’s eyes, and seeing the entire world melt away around you.
Even today, when speaking of Elvis’ death almost 65 years later, Priscilla still gets visibly emotional. At one point during her interview with Piers Morgan, she had to stop the interview to gather herself when discussing the losses she had endured. Priscilla has not only lost her infamous love, but also her grandson, mother, and, earlier this year, her daughter.
“I miss him very much. I miss his words, his love, his laugh. I miss his energy; I miss the fun times. You don’t really realize the fun times you’re having until you look back.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
While we witness the passion of their relationship, the film does a great job of not over-romanticizing the nature of their marriage. Coppola walks us through the reality of dating the most famous man on the planet. Mr. Presley is often gone, on tour, and photographed for magazines that speculate over his current love interest. Priscilla is navigating the nature of their relationship and experiencing her transformation into womanhood and her own identity, all while trying to block out the millions of fans chasing after her man every night. Adolescence is hard enough and much more difficult when everything gets broadcasted to the world, sometimes without your consent.
“When you’re living a life, married to Elvis Presley, you don’t really know what you’re getting into, especially when you’re younger.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
We witness a dark side of Elvis about halfway through the film where he loses his temper and throws a chair at a wall, barely missing Priscilla. The scene occurs in his office, full of cigarette smoke, with Elvis pacing frustratedly around his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Presley and Parker disagreed over what demo songs were worth pursuing. When Presley asked Priscilla’s opinion, which differed from his, he became enraged and took it out by picking up a chair and slamming it into the wall. This scene revealed a different part of both Elvis and Priscilla: It was the first time Priscilla spoke up about her honest opinion, and Elvis became violent.
“Sofia was never making the movie to show the bad side of Elvis; that was a real moment when he was upset with Colonel Parker. And it showed, yes, he had a temper, yes, that’s how he felt in that moment, but it didn’t mean he was like that all the time… He was a human being, and he had feelings.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
Of course, in 2023, we can recognize the evident inappropriateness of their relationship; However, Priscilla insists it was a different time, the early sixties, and that she never felt uncomfortable or controlled while with Elvis.
Despite the ups and downs, how she recalls their love is beautiful. She speaks of him in a way that transcends time and space, and it’s apparent the love they shared was true. She tells reporter Piers Morgan that she will be buried next to Elvis at Graceland and that whenever she visits Graceland, it feels like she never left.
“I can hear Elvis’ laughter, I can see him playing the piano after we got home from the theater or the movies. We would go in the piano room, he would go straight to the piano, I would sit on the couch, and he would start singing gospel music.”
Priscilla Presley, Sky News Australia
Priscilla Presley is an absolute icon, and I’m so happy Sofia Coppola used her gift to show the world her incredible life. Priscilla is happy, too. We love you, Priscilla!
“When I saw the movie, I was truly engrossed in it. I tried to separate myself. At the end, I was quite emotional.”
Priscilla Presley, The Hollywood Reporter
