Penny Moreno

The movie “Priscilla” released on Oct. 27 in theaters, Priscilla Presley’s perspective of her life with Elvis is finally told. In the movie, Priscilla is played by Cailee Spaeny while Elvis is played by popular actor Jacob Elordi, and the often untold story of Elvis and Priscilla’s marriage are exposed. The movie gives insight into Elvis’s true nature and how he acted outside of his stardom.

My friend and I walked into the Violet Crown Cinema in awe because we had never seen a theater like this one. We had found the “Priscilla” tickets thirty minutes prior on a sketchy website, so we really didn’t know what to expect. As we bought our popcorn, we noticed the chic aesthetic of the place and how it was filled with college students with UT shirts on.

The new movie “Priscilla” was released on Oct. 27, and is only available at theaters. The movie tells the life story of the often forgotten  “Queen of Rock and Roll,” Priscilla Presley, and her life with Elvis Presley. “Priscilla” focuses solely on her point of view, which has rarely been  talked about before, and the progression of Elvis and Priscilla’s relationship in the late nineties.

I didn’t know how to feel going into the theater, I hadn’t heard anything about Priscilla and it had come out in October. Other than some commercials of the movie, I didn’t see any TikTok videos of the movie, like I usually do. I definitely was still interested in watching it because I knew what it was going to be about, but the fact that I hadn’t heard anything about it made me feel like the movie might not be that good.

As we walked to our seats, the movie had already started and we sat down as Elvis, played by Jacob Elordi, asked Priscilla, played by Cailee Spaeny, how old she was. She proceeded to tell him that she was in the ninth grade. My jaw dropped as I heard this. I was in utter shock as I learned she was a little kid and he was a grown adult when they started to date. They had met as Elvis was serving in the army in Germany and she lived there because her stepfather was stationed there also serving in the army. Priscilla was barely in high school when she was trying to alter her whole life so that she could be with him. As a senior, I thought about my freshman year of high school and the lack of maturity that I had at that age. I had never viewed Elvis as a bad person, but my dislike of him grew from this point forward.

The movie continues as Priscilla moves to Memphis into Elvis’s home “Graceland.” I started to see Priscilla change herself to fit Elvis’s wants in a woman. I found it disgusting that she was being constantly taken advantage of by Elvis, and because she was at such a young age she viewed it as Elvis’s love for her.

After their daughter was born, I felt a shift in Priscilla. She started to change how she lived her life for her daughter. I enjoyed the part when she tells Elvis she wants a divorce. Although I love Jacob Elordi as an actor and I think he did a phenomenal job as Elvis, I was so done with Elvis in the movie. The movie definitely changed my perspective of Elvis and the type of person that he was portrayed as.

I really liked the movie. Priscilla finally got to be free of Elvis and his unacceptable behavior, and it made me happy to see her stick up for herself. I definitely liked “Priscilla” more than the “Elvis”

movie, where Austin Butler portrays Elvis. The movie “Elvis” glamorized Elvis’s behavior while in “Priscilla” it exposes his behavior which most people are unaware of.

I recommend this movie to any high schooler or above interested in Priscilla and Elvis and their story together. The movie does deal with some serious topics, but I think Priscilla’s story needed to be told. I highly recommend this movie and if you want to learn more about the often forgotten “Queen of Rock and Roll” this movie would be perfect for you.

Penny’s Ratings:

Plot Rating: 8/10

Acting Rating: 8.5/10

Overall Rating: 8.5/10