Priscilla

wowza i love love love you sofia coppola you’re so good at what you do this was the perfect follow up to your magnum opus *The Bling Ring * if 2022’s Elvis is cocaine then this movie is heroin  elordi shines as the king of rock, perfectly capturing the dramatic and immediate mood swings of a manipulative and abusive partner his casting was quite clever because like elvis, elordi is widely revered and adored by teenage girls around the world due to his work in the seminal masterpiece that is The Kissing Booth trilogy. choosing to cast someone that teenagers love as a pop culture icon, who was also loved by teenagers, makes the impact of elvis’s actions in the film that much more shocking. most people choose to not remember the negative sides of elvis like his addictions, white savior attitude about african-american styles of music, and predatory behaviors, so in a film that aims to shock and horrify its viewers by recontextualizing who elvis was, the viewer’s pre-conceived notions of elordi in real life parallel the wide spread public’s view of elvis.  the costuming was also very baller asf, with priscilla beginning the movie wearing light pastel pinks, greens, and blues, with this colors changing to darker purples and blacks as her relationship with elvis evolves. his dark clothing and hair rub off onto her, and the viewer gets a visual representation of how relationships and the people we surround ourselves with can change the very essence of who we are. as priscilla gradually becomes less and less connected to elvis, she shifts back to the lighter colors, not only in her clothes, but also in her hair and makeup.  the costuming also works in conjunction with the camera work, as whenever priscilla and elvis interact, elordi is shot from a very low angle, versus the high crane like angle from which spaeny is filmed. not only does this help demonstrate the power dynamic between them, but with elvis’s dark clothing, he becomes a shadow that looms over priscilla, forcing her to dress how he wants, do what he wants, and crashing down upon her upon the slightest instance of insubordination from priscilla.  after the inevitable separation of the power couple to end all power couples, priscillas costumes and the settings in which priscilla is filmed become very washed out, losing the colorful spectacle that came with being elvis’s woman. it also represents how her love for elvis is draining just like the color drained from the screen. the final shot really stuck with me. it’s quite a profound image to see pricilla drive herself for the first time in the entire film, having left behind the passenger seat with elvis or a chauffeur behind the wheel, and finally taking ahold of the wheel to leave graceland, she is finally taking her life back, and leaving the harmful and depressing narrative she found herself in for the majority of the film this is my joker