Review of Priscilla (2023)

I’ll admit I had resistance to see Priscilla because I just saw Elvis last year and because the tragedy of Lisa Marie’s death had been weighing on my mind. I did eventually see Priscilla and it reminded me of Todd Haynes (the director of Far From Heaven, Wonderstruck, and May December) at his best, where he looks through a taboo relationship with as non-judgmental of a lens as possible.

I wasn’t interested in whether Elvis was a good or bad guy. I wanted to know why in the world a 22-year-old superstar with the world at his feet, would opt to focus his efforts on courting a 14-year-old in a Christian manner. That’s what the film showed us.

Elvis did something modern-day audiences would consider line-crossing, but it made sense in Elvis’s head.

Priscilla continued to be a defender of Elvis against his worst accusers. Perhaps, it was because he was a pious man who was devoted to prayer and his principles to the degree that he could manage. That certainly comes through in the film.

Unfortunately, the film dropped off in the second half by failing to show the full descent of dysfunction and danger that I assumed their marriage would devolve to. The cheating scandals seemed inevitable for any pop stars given the level of temptation. However, he would be controlling, he isolated her, and he once pulled a gun on her.

Creating a movie that’s based on true events and having it be less eventful than the real deal is a cardinal sin. The vast majority of films based on true…