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One of my issues with Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis was that while it was great in showing The King of Rock & Roll as a performer, it was less strong on depicting what he was like as a man. The parts of the film with him on stage were excellent but everything around it just seemed thinly sketched. There is no doubt this reflects Luhrmann’s priorities but it still might have better if he’d just focused purely on the one element if he couldn’t properly do both.

This is precisely what Sofia Coppola has done from the other way around. There is nothing in this movie looking at Elvis Presley’s professional or musical achievements, it is all about him as a human being – or more specifically as a husband. With this as its only objective it succeeds where 2022’s film didn’t, relaying the narrative it wants to tell without distraction.

Whether this is an entirely accurate representation or not is unclear, certainly he does not come across at all well, but as the title clearly suggests he is not the focus at all. No longer does the use of the name Priscilla in a cinematic context relate purely to queens of the desert or naked guns. This is very much the story of Elvis’ famous young bride, taken from her own book, and it does appear to be a faithful version of this as she recalls it.

Baz Luhrmann did not shy away from Elvis’ philandering and the effect this had on his wife and actually there is nothing in his film that contradicts this one. What it didn’t show is what life was like for her when he wasn’t around, which by all accounts was no small amount of time. What it also didn’t highlight was the age difference between the two and how Elvis at age twenty five essentially took, kept and reshaped Priscilla as a girl, ten years his junior. There has been suggestion that Priscilla was more keen to become the black haired, coiffed and manicured icon than is indicated here but in the scheme of things that seems largely irrelevant. What is undeniable is that she lived with a very controlling and self obsessed partner, who she clearly loved but eventually walked away from when she was still not yet thirty.

Coppola’s handling of this is perfect. She shows the experiences of Priscilla, some of which are quite dramatic, without sensation while never robbing any moment of its power. The end where she seems to suddenly just leave is a perfect example of this because while the action is underplayed she is not suddenly just leaving at all; every scene from the time the couple first meet has been building to this point like a secret crescendo.

So key to the success of the movie is the partnership of Coppola and her leading actor Cailee Spaeny, who is just superb in the role. She’s twenty five by the way. I’m telling you this now because you’ll want to know how old she is after you’ve seen her utterly convincingly play Priscilla from the age of fourteen to twenty eight with little more than hair and costume changes and some fake lashes. Jacob Elordi plays Mr. Presley and may not capture him as well as Austin Butler did but Coppola has him support Spaeny perfectly. The way his character controls the narrative but still plays second fiddle to the female lead is a brilliant balance that all three of them need credit for. It is hard to play this particular man without showcasing but they manage it here and never does he come close to eclipsing his co-star.

Some critics are hailing this as Sofia Coppola’s best film and while it has none of the dramatic incidents of Marie Antoinette, The Bling Ring, The Beguiled or The Virgin Suicides, high drama is not what she does as a director. Some of her other movies have avoided these entirely, most notably Lost in Translation, but whether this is her finest work or not it does perhaps find that line between character moments and significant life events better than before.

Priscilla is a really good film but also an important one. As well as telling the story of a woman who has lived her entire life in the shadow of a more famous man, it also shows experiences that will be relatable to many women in less tabloid worthy relationships. Priscilla, the woman and the movie, proves here to be a quiet inspiration.