BrookeHerdzina

While both “Elvis” and “Priscilla” display Elvis Presley’s rise to fame and his infamous relationship with Priscilla Presley, the two films couldn’t be more different. 

The “Priscilla” movie, directed and produced by Sofia Coppola, hit theaters on Oct. 27. 

The film stars Jacob Elordi as Elvis and Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla.  

This biopic comes only a year after the box-office hit, “Elvis” was released. “Elvis” stars Austin Butler as Elvis and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla.  

The film “Priscilla” finally gives Priscilla Presley the role of the main character in a world where she is always looked at as a side character in Elvis Presley’s story. 

This is seen in “Elvis,” as Priscilla is given the role of a one-dimensional side character that is given little attention during the film. 

Multiple scenes from “Priscilla” were pulled straight from the pages of “Elvis and Me,” a memoir written by Priscilla Presley in 1985. 

The events in the movie closely follow the true experiences of the couple and give an inside perspective into the couple’s tumultuous relationship during Elvis’s rise to fame. 

The film did not shy away from the darker aspects of Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s lives,  like showcasing the 10-year agel gap between Priscilla and Elvis, or that their relationship started when she was just a freshman in high school and he was already 24 years old. 

In “Elvis’,’ the details of Elvis’s and Priscilla’s relationship are kept vague and don’t heavily impact the movie. In “Priscilla,” these factors take the main stage and demonstrate the power imbalance between Elvis and Priscilla. 

Elvis is not only much older than Priscilla but also more powerful and wealthy because of his fame. 

This dynamic eventually showcases Elvis’s physically aggressive tendencies towards Priscilla. These less appealing aspects of their relationship demonstrated in “Priscilla” are a departure from the typical narratives of the couple that often glamorize the relationship. 

The film “Priscilla”  also displays Elvis’s heavy reliance on prescription medicine that begins early on in his career, and how this influences Priscilla who begins taking pills as well. In “Elvis,” this addiction gets glossed over and is only truly mentioned at the end of the movie, even though this addiction spiraled and contributed to Elvis’s death.

Truthfully, these films are hard to compare because the stories are completely different. 

While they both recount Elvis Presley and his rise to fame with Priscilla by his side, “Priscilla” is the first time we get to see Priscilla Presley as a fully formed person and character who gets to share her own story, out of Elvis’s shadow. For the first time, she is the star.