Priscilla (2023)

Priscilla wanders through the ornate, silent room. She sits on a chair, resting her face on her hand. A moment later she moves to the couch. Then rises, to gaze outside the window. She approaches the white piano and plays a single note. The camera pulls back to reveal her standing alone in the vast, empty space.

Here, Priscilla is shown entering her new life with Elvis, with a scene of her entering Graceland, Elvis’ mansion. But what differentiates this particular scene from the rest of the scenes in this film is the treatment of it – there is complete and utter lack of sound and background score during the entire scene. More on this in a bit.

Priscilla (2023) is a biographical drama adapted from Priscilla Presley's memoir, "Elvis and Me." It is an intimate portrayal of her life from her teenage years in Germany to her marriage to Elvis Presley and the complexities of their relationship.

Coming back to the scene described earlier, not only is the background score conspicuous by its absence, it is also completely bereft of any camera movement. The implication being that neither is this scene transitory nor is it used for dramatic effect – since usually, such a scene would almost always be accompanied with music and/or impressive camerawork.

Similar silent, static shots appear throughout the film at different points in Priscilla’s life.

A common thread between them being that these are shots solely of Priscilla. I believe the purpose of these is to show the stillness in her life, in the absence of Elvis. To show how there’s nothing else to show in her life when he is not there. Even though she is surrounded by opulent furniture and décor and her life is as elegant as an oil painting, yet it is difficult to ignore the boredom in Priscilla's life - provoking continued reflection on the ‘emptiness’ despite all the wealth.

There are so many gorgeous scenes in this movie. One would notice the low exposure lighting that gives the film a more muted colour palette. This lighting is used to draw attention to specific details within a scene – minimizing the distractions that are a by-product of brighter lights and elements. This may have been employed in the film to drive home the point that it is the small things that matter more in Priscilla’s life. This methodology also, ironically, contrasts the flamboyant public life of her husband.

I couldn't help but compare Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (2023) to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (2022). While Coppola’s film has a softer tone, Luhrmann’s is fast and flashy, with a lot more pizazz. In terms of acting, Jacob Elordi’s Elvis in Priscilla feels more natural and personal compared to Austin Butler’s more exaggerated portrayal. Different films, different styles. On the other hand, I could not compare the performance of the female leads - simply because Priscilla was given only 10 minutes in Luhrmann’s film! What is also interesting is that in Priscilla (2023), Elvis is present the entire time. Even in scenes where he is physically absent, he’s ‘present’.

Elvis was and remained the architect of Priscilla's life until the day she left him. To many, Priscilla's life was picture-perfect — married to the rich and famous Elvis Presley. Most would presume her to be happy and carefree. However, as the film Priscilla reveals, her reality was far from enviable.