Priscilla

“Well, it's either me or a career, baby.” ──── ୨୧ ──── The glamorization that Coppola uses to confront uncomfortable subjects is what makes her my favourite director of all time. The bright 1960s aesthetics coupled with the harsh, bleak dialogue and abusive relationship between Elvis and Priscilla is what really sells this film. I can understand why people might not like this movie, especially given the dramatization that Priscilla herself admitted to, but to me it’s about more than a biopic, instead showing how women are groomed into harmful relationships without even realizing. At a young age, women are told to conform and adapt to a man’s environment, and this culture in the 60s was horrible. Priscilla represents the girls who grew up thinking that the trauma they went through was okay, that the way they were manipulated was the way the world was supposed to work. This movie is a dreamy nightmare, a blur of reality and colourful teenage wonder. Scenes are cut short, music fades in and out constantly, but underneath there is a raw tale of entrapment and mistreatment. I especially appreciate the small details in this movie, and the references to the decade, as it’s my favourite. All the bright outfits fading, Priscilla’s natural hair coming back towards the end, it all completes the movie. The most common criticism of this movie stems from the “boring” or “tasteless” nature, but I think that’s intentional on Coppola’s part. The dark centre of the film resides in this tension, and the statement is about more than just Priscilla herself. To me, it seems that Coppola worked off of the novel with more in mind of the greater message and story, rather than just focusing on the truth. This may irk some people, but I think this actually worked in the films favour, and allowed for a more expansive and enthralling truth about trauma and abuse as a whole.