Priscilla
2023 · Directed by Sofia Coppola
Original language: English
- drama
- romance
The story
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
What it’s like
Soft, pastel-washed interiors with muted pinks, powder blues and lots of lamplight, shot in long static frames and close, lingering details like hair rollers, pills in a cupped palm, a telephone cord stretched across a room. Coppola's camera watches from a little distance, so the mansions in Memphis and Bel Air feel gilded and airless, and the 1970s clothes and décor carry a sun-faded, slightly dreamlike sheen. The score is sparse, with recurring snatches of Elvis-era pop and long stretches of quiet hush that let the ticking of a clock or a car idling in a driveway do the work. Its vibe is wistful and quietly suffocating, a sweet ache that turns slowly into dread, best suited to a late evening alone or a slow, reflective afternoon. The pace is deliberate and observational, and the emotional register is intimate and unsettling rather than dramatic: a young woman's early infatuation gradually curdling into isolation, control and loneliness under a famous man's watch. Intensity is low: there is no on-screen gore, violence is rare and mostly implied, and the sexual content is restrained but present, handled with discomfort rather than explicitness. It suits viewers who want a character study of a relationship's emotional texture, the glamour and the quiet cage of it, and people drawn to period films that feel more like looking through a window than watching a plot unfold.
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