In a sea of Elvis Presley biopics, documentaries and dramatisations, one stands out for centring itself not on the King himself, but on one of the most significant personalities of the Elvis universe – and it will be on TV tonight.
Written, directed and produced by Sofia Coppola, 2023’s Priscilla is a quiet, stylised and emotionally charged portrait of Priscilla Presley. The film is based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, written by Priscilla with Sandra Harmon, and Priscilla Presley herself served as an executive producer on the project.
The film stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis, charting the early beginnings and slow unraveling of their romantic relationship.
It starts with a chance encounter at a party in Germany in the late 1950s, when Priscilla was just 14 and Elvis was already a global superstar.
From there, it follows her life as she moves to Graceland, navigates the pressures of living in Elvis’s orbit, and grapples with identity, control and personal freedom in the shadow of one of the world’s most famous men.
Spaeny’s performance earned widespread praise, winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Elordi’s take on Elvis, meanwhile, offered a contrast to the more bombastic portrayals of the singer – focusing instead on his mood swings, vulnerabilities and erratic behaviour behind closed doors.
Unlike Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 Elvis, which focused on spectacle and the singer’s career highs, Priscilla strips away the glitz to tell a more intimate, grounded story from Priscilla’s perspective.
Sofia Coppola’s signature style – understated visuals, pastel tones and a strong female-oriented lens – adds to the dreamlike, at times suffocating atmosphere of life inside Graceland.
The film was a critical success and generated considerable attention for its restrained storytelling. Though it didn’t receive any Academy Award nominations, it appeared on several year-end critics’ lists and was praised for centring a narrative rarely explored in mainstream music biopics – the cost of fame on the people standing just outside the spotlight.
The supporting cast includes Ari Cohen as Priscilla’s father, Dagmara Domińczyk as her mother, and Tim Post as Vernon Presley, Elvis’s father.
But most of the film’s emotional weight rests on Spaeny, who captures Priscilla’s transformation from star-struck teenager to a woman trying to reclaim her autonomy.
Priscilla airs tonight, Sunday April 20, on BBC Two at 10 pm.