In the picture, a pair of carefully pedicured feet with magenta-painted nails strides across a fluffy pink carpet. Harp notes complete the impression of sweet bliss. Suddenly the music emits fleeting, eerie distortions. With subtle evocative power and admirable economy, the opening sequence of the film Priscilla sets the tone of what is to follow: an anti-fairy tale that Priscilla Beaulieu experienced when she became Priscilla Presley. During a virtual conference to which Le Devoir was exclusively invited, director and screenwriter Sofia Coppola and her star Cailee Spaeny look back on this magnificent impressionistic biography.
“I came across Priscilla Presley’s memoirs by chance [Elvis and Me, publié en 1985]and I admit that I did not expect to be so fascinated and challenged,” explains Sofia Coppola.
“I realized how little I knew about her. Above all, I was very touched by her story: how she developed from an impressive young girl into an independent woman, and through an unusual path to say the least. »
Priscilla was 14 when she met 24-year-old Elvis. The singer was stationed in Germany at the time, at the same military base as the teenager’s father. Love at first sight is mutual, and a chaste relationship begins with the blessing (not without sorrow) of Priscilla’s parents.
“I was amazed that her parents agreed to this, but at the same time Priscilla comes from my parents’ generation; “It was very different,” notes the filmmaker, who says she enjoyed learning more about the time when her own mother was a teenager through the project.
At the age of 16, Priscilla moved to Graceland and completed her schooling in Tennessee. At 21, still a virgin, she married Elvis. Nine months later she gave birth to her daughter Lisa Marie.
In the meantime, disillusionment slowly sets in and Priscilla realizes that she is the prisoner of a golden cage. Elvis chooses his clothes, his hair color (matching his own)…
“The artists who did the costumes and hair really helped me put this performance together,” says Cailee Spaeny, winner of the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival.
“Their attention to all kinds of little details gave me a lot of clues for my interpretation. »
You should know that the actress plays the protagonist from the ages of 14 to 28. However, since the film was not shot chronologically, which is not unusual, Cailee Spaeny needed these “anchor points” all the more in order to properly modulate the psychological development of her character.
Your history
The star was also able to count on the support of protagonist Priscilla Presley, who co-produced the film.
“Meeting Priscilla was very stressful,” admits Cailee Spaeny. Because I didn’t want to seem like I was interviewing him. But she was great. She told me very specific memories. I see her again, her eyes light up, she remembers a tender moment with Elvis, or she bursts out laughing while remembering a funny thing that only they know…”
Sofia Coppola points out that Priscilla Presley showed great generosity by allowing the filmmaker to enter her secret garden. In fact, there are certain elements in the film that are not in the book.
“The date scene where Priscilla and Elvis are at the movie theater and he says Humphrey Bogart’s lines and then talks about Marlon Brando and his desire to study acting at the Actors Studio is not in the autobiography. Priscilla told me that. It sheds an interesting light on Elvis’ failed artistic ambitions. »
However, the focus of interest throughout is Priscilla. This desire to put Priscilla clearly in the foreground and to push Elvis to the sidelines is particularly expressed in the film through the musical selection (music always plays an important role for the filmmaker). Aside from a stealthy piano version of Love Me Tender, references to Elvis hits are rare.
Normal: It’s not his story.
“It’s her story,” agrees Sofia Coppola. And Elvis happens to be there. The opening shot is also this: We follow their steps; We will follow in his footsteps, so to speak. »
Other songs are intended to comment on what is happening, such as “Venus” by Frankie Avalon, covered by the group Phoenix. We hear it at the beginning, during the restaurant scene, when one of Elvis’s friends approaches young Priscilla like a recruiter. “Venus, if you want / Please send me a little girl so I can inspire her.” No, this is not a fairy tale.
In line
This bias in narrative focus places Priscilla in perfect continuity with Coppola’s previous films such as The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette and Somewhere, which dealt with young heroines in search of himself goes.
“I learned to follow my instincts and focus on what interests me. “I’m interested in the question of the search for identity,” summarizes the filmmaker, adding in the same breath:
“We are experiencing a moment in our culture where people are more open to hearing and seeing stories from women. »
When asked what she hopes audiences will take away from her film, Cailee Spaeny replies, “I was impressed by what it conveyed. She is very elegant and expresses herself very well, but beneath that surface is a woman who doesn’t let anyone dictate anything to her. »
For her part, Sofia Coppola concludes: “With her, we only focused on her beauty and glamor. We have no idea how strong and resilient he is. She could see that this “perfect life” wasn’t for her. »
It is this “impressive young girl” who became an “independent woman” that Sofia Coppola wanted to tell about and celebrate.
Delicate and powerful Priscilla
Priscilla (VO and VF)
★★★★
Biographical drama by Sofia Coppola. With Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi. United States, 2023, 113 minutes. In cinemas from November 3rd.