Priscilla (2023)

Let me start off by saying that this is not an enjoyable viewing expereince. I didn't know it when I watched it, but it is a Sophia Coppola film, and as one review said, her pictures are all, in one way or another, about captivity and isolation. For the characters held captive the cage is often a gilded one, and the cage in search of a bird. I could not say it better myself. The movie is written by the director and based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, and honors the author by giving us her perspective. Elvis famously met Priscilla Beaulieu in 1959 when he was in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany; Priscilla was the daughter of another officer stationed there and was, well, 14 at the time the two were introduced. It was still creepy from my perspective, not so much in the pedophile sense, but rather that the shy superstar was looking for a touchstone, more of a person to possess rather than a partner, and by wooing someone so young, he managed to get mostly what he wanted for far too long. She was captured by him and it took her a long time to figure out how to escape. All of this is interesting, but not to watch, so look for this one if you are interested in what Priscilla has to say, but not for any other reason.