Priscilla

Oh wow this got me so riled up. Such a heartbreaking film in every way. The whole first half is while Priscilla is still in high school and only once does she speak to one of her classmates just to ask “are you an elvis fan?” to cheat on a test.. girlhood is stolen from her the moment she meets Elvis. He consumes her thoughts, he controls her image and place in this world, imprisoning her in Graceland where she’s not even allowed to sit outside without “making a spectacle” of herself. Coppola shows female isolation so well with this film and Marie Antoinette, giving these women a narrative outside of the shadow of these larger than life men. Love that none of Elvis’s music was allowed, it gives us space to humanize him and see his behaviors as they were. It angers me to see how much of Priscilla’s formative years were spent playing live-in girlfriend with Elvis but also shows how much strength she has in leaving Graceland later. I just watched a video where Jacob Elordi talks about the final scene between them and how the red light flashing in and out of the hotel room signifies a dying beating heart and how his story is mostly a tragedy. Elvis was an abusive man with a sad end and it’s really depressing how much his fame and his isolated bubble of Graceland hurt himself and those around him. Ending with Dolly was perfect. Doing acid with Elvis would be my absolute nightmare.