PRISCILLA
Venice 80 – Competition
USA, Italy, 2023 Director Sofia Coppola Starring Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Dagmara Dominczyk Running time 113′
After Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, the music returns to the Lido with Priscilla. This film marks Sofia Coppola‘s return to Venice thirteen years after she won the Golden Lion for Somewhere in 2010 when Quentin Tarantino chaired the jury.
Listed among the most eagerly awaited titles at the festival, especially overseas, Priscilla is based on the memoir Elvis and Me, written by Priscilla Presley herself in 1985 to chronicle her relationship and life alongside the King of Rock ‘n Roll Elvis, to whom she was married from 1967 to 1973 and with whom she had a daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who died last January. “I was struck by Priscilla Presley’s autobiography about the years she lived at Graceland as a young woman. I tried to capture what it was like for her to immerse herself in the world of Elvis, only to re-emerge and discover her identity eventually. As an artist, it’s important to me to show the world through the eyes of my characters, without judging,” explained Coppola, whose filmography (from Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette to Bling Ring) abounds with examples of investigations into the identity and transformation of individuals. “This film investigates how Priscilla became who she is and what it means and has meant to be a woman for her and subsequent generations. She went through experiences common to many young women, the difference being that she faced them in an unusual context. And that is why in Priscilla’s story, while unique, we can incredibly all identify.”
Giving Priscilla’s face is young Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown, 7 Strangers at El Royale), while Australian Jacob Elordi (star of Euphoria and The Kissing Booth saga) will be under scrutiny in the confrontation with Austin Butler‘s Elvis. An interesting production note: A24 produces Priscilla with Lorenzo Mieli’s Italian The Apartment.
