Sofia Coppola’s latest film, “Priscilla” is the first to focus solely on the life of the queen of rock and roll legend, Elvis Presley. Now, audiences are getting their first look at Presley, played by “Euphoria” actor Jacob Elordi, in the first full trailer for the movie.
The film follows a teenage Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) as she meets Elvis at the age of 14. The pair’s whirlwind romance culminates with their marriage and, as the trailer lays out, Priscilla’s struggles to maintain her own identity outside of being the King’s wife.
The aesthetic of the film is pure Coppola, with a lot of satins and pastel colors. Costume designer Stacey Battat’s outfits, particularly on Spaeny, are fantastic. If you’ve seen photos of the real Priscilla and Elvis, especially their wedding pictures, you’ll see the loving attention to detail.
Considering Coppola’s past themes in her work it’s no surprise the film will take a look at Priscilla being just 14-years-old upon meeting Presley, who was 25 at the time. The pair were married when Priscilla was just 21.
The film has received favorable reviews since its debut at the Venice Film Festival. Spaeny would win the Volpi Cup, a top prize at the Venice Film Fest, for Best Actress for her role in the film. Coppola herself revealed in a profile for W Magazine that long-time leading lady and collaborator Kirsten Dunst suggested Spaeny for the role.
“Kirsten is like a sister to me, and when she recommended Cailee, I paid attention,” Coppola said. Spaeny told the magazine that Dunst’s casting recommendation was a passing of the torch.
“Sofia pulled out her iPad and showed me some photos of Priscilla,” Spaeny recalled of her first meeting with the filmmaker. “She said, ‘I think you could do it!’ I felt like Kirsten had passed the torch to me.”
TheWrap’s Tomris Laffly said in her review that the film “is a meditative and thoughtfully feminine Sofia Coppola movie through and through—a sad, bored and confused young woman of certain privileges trying to make sense of her circumstances and, maybe, even coming of age.”
“Priscilla” is based on Presley’s (with writer Sandra Harmon) 1985 memoir, “Elvis and Me.” That same book was turned into a made-for-TV movie in 1988 with Susan Walters and Dale Midkiff playing the couple.
You can watch the full trailer below.
A24 will release “Priscilla” in theaters on November 3.
