After its enthusiastic reception at the Venice Film Festival where it received a 7-minute ovation and won the best actress prize for its revelation Cailee Spaeny, Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla continues to tour fall festivals. This rather raw portrait, far from the fairy tale, of Elvis Presley’s wife was screened in Zurich and this week at the London Film Festival.
To keep the most curious waiting for the release, the A24 studio has unveiled the trailer for the film, expected in theaters in the United States at the beginning of November and in France on January 3.
The clip shows all the gray areas and questions of control that the romance between the 26-year-old King, played by Jacob Elordi from Euphoria, and the 14-year-old schoolgirl raises. We see Priscilla’s father surprised that the superstar is interested in his daughter while women around the world are swooning at his feet. In another scene, the singer insists that the young girl change her hairstyle and makeup even though this style makes her uncomfortable.
Based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Priscilla covers the couple’s meeting in Germany where Elvis Presley was serving in the military, their 1967 Las Vegas wedding and the birth of their daughter Lisa Marie nine months later. Without forgetting the first disagreements which precipitated their divorce in 1973 four before the singer’s death at age 42 in 1977.
By adopting Priscilla’s point of view, Sofia Copola offers a counterpoint to Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic Elvis. Austin Butler, playing the King, made a strong impression. And garnered an Oscar nomination. Priscilla had the features of Australian actress Olivia DeJonge.
