PRISCILLA movie review from an Elvis fan: Jacob Elordi’s portrayal of Elvis is Oscar-worthy
Enquiring minds want to know – is the Priscilla movie good or is it bad? How does it make Elvis look? How does it make Priscilla look? Does the film deserve all the glowing reviews it has received from critics? Or does it deserve the negative remarks made by the Elvis Presley estate?
The film is based on Priscilla’s memoir, Elvis and Me. The movie goes behind the scenes to show what happened in the relationship between Elvis and Priscilla, all from Priscilla’s perspective.
For those who are romantics, of course, we wanted to believe in the fairytale marriage that was promised in the beautiful photos and video of Elvis and Priscilla getting married in 1967. But, of course, that is not how their relationship played out.
First things first – Jacob Elordi nails it! From the first few scenes he appears in, I totally bought into the fact that I was watching Elvis. Elordi masters Presley’s voice, including his faint stutter.
Jacob, who is Australian, explained in an interview that he was lucky that his natural vocal register was similar to Elvis. Therefore, he didn’t have to make his voice deeper for the role. That’s an issue that Austin Butler had, and why everyone said Butler’s voice had gotten deeper and he couldn’t stop sounding like Presley even after the 2022 ELVIS movie came out.
“I think I’m lucky enough that the [Elvis] voice kind of sits in this [same] register for me anyway,” Elordi said. “I have a deep voice. But I think I’ve heard every recorded word that Elvis Presley has ever said.”
Elordi’s portrayal of Elvis is understated due to the content of the scenes and dialogue of the film, not to mention the fact that the movie’s intention is to focus on Priscilla. But the way he manages to capture Elvis’ way of speaking, his physicality and his personality is amazing to me.
While Austin Butler did a great job as the young Elvis in the 1950s, and also the older Elvis from 1968 to 1977, he did not have a chance to delve into the 1960s Elvis too much, since the ELVIS movie virtually skipped over Presley’s movie years. Jacob Elordi offers a glimpse into the bulk of Presley’s professional acting years from 1960 to 1967, and then continuing to the early 1970s.
We see the more refined version of Elvis in the 1960s who appeared to be a changed man after he returned from two years of army service. This was the Elvis that was really defining his power and setting up a structure of the way he wanted his life as a superstar to be.
While Elvis had always been conscious about his hair and his clothes in the 1950s, which helped cement his persona in American culture, he took it a step further in the 1960s after returning from Europe. As I discuss in my book, ELVIS The Army Years Uncovered, Elvis had visited Paris three times during his army stint, and you could visibly see how Elvis’ taste in clothes had changed to a more refined look. Elvis was so meticulous about his army uniform that he had his entourage polish his shoes and press his outfits so he would be the best dressed soldier in the army. This carried over to his personal life as evident in the scene in which he takes Priscilla to a boutique to help her pick out clothes.
In the age of the Me Too movement, watching Elvis’ controlling behavior and patriarchal views of women may seem shocking. However, in reality, they are understandable (to a degree). As Elordi explained: “He’s from the south from a time period that is completely different to how it is now. He was sort of brought up on traditional gender roles. It’s pretty consistent throughout his career in interviews and in writing that he liked… the woman playing the role of the woman. It was pretty clear in the [Elvis and Me] text which I think was true for, I would say, the majority of people from the south in that time period.”
On the other hand, while I thought Cailee Spaeny did a good job, it took me a while to believe I was watching Priscilla. Cailee Spaeny has already won an award for best actress at the Venice Film Festival for PRISCILLA. However, in my opinion, Cailee did not sound that much like Priscilla. I also felt that Spaeny appeared to look and act much younger than Priscilla did when she first met Elvis, because even though Priscilla was only 14, she had a mature look about her and the way she carried herself.
As Charlie Hodge described: “Priscilla did have a way about her when she was around Elvis that made her seem far older than her 14 years. She had a kind of poise, an aloofness about her.”
The film does have some issues with the accuracy of design and costume details as well as historical details. For instance, they changed the name of the air force soldier that introduced Priscilla to Elvis. His real name was Currie Grant, but in the film, he is called Terry West. Also, I was surprised that more attention was not paid to what Priscilla and Elvis were wearing the night that they first met.
Priscilla described it vividly in her book that Elvis was wearing a red sweater and tan slacks, and she was wearing a navy and white sailor dress with white socks and shoes. However, in the movie, they both appeared more subdued. Elvis is wearing a blue sweater and Priscilla is wearing a solid light blue dress. Perhaps I will discuss the accuracy of these kinds of details in another article.
My personal observation of the real-life Priscilla is that she is a very reserved person who does not show that much emotion in public. And I felt that her book, while insightful, was not as emotional as other books I’ve read from women that were involved with Elvis. And while that subdued vibe may appear in her book, a filmmaker has the chance to add some drama to the story when adapting any book into a film.
Unfortunately, I felt that director Sofia Coppola, who wrote the screenplay, left out some of the glamour that people would expect to see in a movie about Elvis. Also, overall the film was very “quiet.” It’s hard to explain, but the beginning of the film was slow moving and slightly dull.
For example, I feel there should have been more dialogue and excitement in the scene when Elvis first meets Priscilla. That scene, like most of the movie, has a somber tone, that almost makes Elvis’ life look boring to some degree. In truth, there were glimmers of this coldness throughout the film.
But I would have let all of that go, if it were not for the ending! What made me so upset after seeing the PRISCILLA movie was the tone of the final scenes. Yes, some fans will take issue with the omission of several details of how and why Elvis and Priscilla split up. As with the 2022 ELVIS movie, there are many details that have been left out of Priscilla’s real-life story in PRISCILLA. Many fans forgave the omission of certain facts in Baz Luhrmann’s movie and embraced it wholeheartedly. I don’t see why fans should not grant the PRISCILLA movie the same consideration.
But taking into account that this is Priscilla’s point of view, it surprisingly ended on a bland note – much blander than her book. Priscilla may not have been as emotional in her book when talking about their breakup, but she certainly conveyed how much she loved Elvis and how hard it was for her to leave him.
At the premiere of the film in Venice, Priscilla said: “Yes, I left, and it wasn’t because I didn’t love him,” Presley said. “He was the love of my life. It was the lifestyle that was so difficult for me, and I think any woman can relate to that.”
While similar dialogue was spoken in the scenes to that effect, unfortunately, the emotion did not come across in the final scenes of the film.
It was frustrating to me that this movie, which shows such a raw side of Elvis accompanied by an amazingly accurate portrayal, had such an anti-climactic ending. For a fan like me who has an avid interest in hearing stories from the women in Presley’s life, the ending of the film left me feeling flat and indifferent.
There are some scenes showing an unflattering side to Elvis, but nothing that is earth-shattering. The downside to the film is not that it exposes Presley’s personal intimacy flaws or anger issues, but how it portrays, specifically at the end, both Elvis and Priscilla as being much more unfeeling than they were in reality. I felt the vibe at the end of the film was cold and numbing, or even neutral. Other fans may feel different, and I will be curious to hear their feedback.
Overall, I will recommend this film mainly for Jacob Elordi’s amazing portrayal of Elvis. As a female fan, you really feel how affectionate Elvis was and what it was like to be doted on by him. And I think it is important to see Priscilla’s perspective, even though many fans take issue with her account.
Nevertheless, it will be a shame if Elordi’s portrayal is ignored or overshadowed during awards season by Cailee Spaeny’s portrayal of Priscilla. Dare I say, in my opinion, I think Jacob deserves an Oscar for his performance. He definitely succeeds in bringing Elvis Presley’s sensuality to life.
Click here to watch the trailer
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This review was written by the Elvis News Examiner, Trina Young. She is the author of 4 Elvis books, including her latest, Fact vs. Fiction in the 2022 ELVIS Movie. Read a free excerpt at ElvisBiography.net.
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