In Priscilla, director Sofia Coppola doesn’t just retell the love story between Priscilla and Elvis Presley — she unearths the quiet anguish beneath a famously glamorous life. Based on Priscilla Presley’s own memoir, the film offers a stark, emotional portrait of a young girl swept into adulthood too soon — and into a relationship that, over time, became more controlling than romantic.
When Priscilla Beaulieu first met Elvis in 1959, she was just 14. He was 24 — a global icon serving in the U.S. Army. Their meeting at a party in Germany marked the beginning of a complicated relationship that would span more than a decade. By the time she moved to Graceland, Priscilla was still a teenager. Elvis promised to take care of her, to keep her “as part of the family,” but as the film shows, that promise slowly became a prison.
To the world, Priscilla was the luckiest girl alive. Lavish parties, beautiful clothes, and a front-row seat to one of the most powerful music empires on earth. But as Priscilla reveals, she was expected to live on Elvis’s terms — to dress how he wanted, to stay home while he toured, and to suppress her own identity in favor of his ideal woman. “It’s either me or a career,” he tells her in the film. Slowly, her sense of self withers in the shadow of his fame.
Coppola portrays these years not as sensational tabloid fodder, but as a slow unraveling of innocence. Her camera lingers on quiet loneliness — empty rooms, absent phone calls, missed birthdays — as Priscilla struggles to hold onto herself while being shaped, styled, and silenced. The film never seeks to villainize Elvis, but it doesn’t shy away from showing the imbalance of power, the emotional manipulation, or the deep isolation that Priscilla endured.
While the story is rooted in the past, its themes feel urgent. The film’s depiction of a teenager molded by an older, more powerful man raised uncomfortable truths — especially for Elvis’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Before her death in early 2023, Lisa Marie expressed her outrage over the script, calling it unfair and unrecognizable. “My father only comes across as a predator,” she wrote in an email, upset by the portrayal.
But abuse doesn’t always wear a villain’s mask. As the National Domestic Violence Hotline points out, controlling and abusive behavior is often hidden from public view. For Priscilla, those early years were filled with confusion — love entangled with control, romance blurred with isolation. As she matured, she began pushing back — changing her appearance, exploring her interests, and ultimately walking away.
The film’s quiet rebellion builds to its final shot: Priscilla leaving Graceland in pants — a small but powerful act of defiance. She was no longer the girl he had molded, but a woman reclaiming her future.
Despite resistance from Elvis Presley Enterprises and a refusal to allow his music in the film, Priscilla stands strong as a story about identity, survival, and quiet strength. It’s not about tearing down a legend — it’s about giving voice to the woman who spent years living in his shadow.
For the first time, the spotlight is on Priscilla — not as Elvis’s wife, but as her own person.