The first image in “Priscilla” has the title character (Cailee Spaeny) sinking her feet into deep shag carpet at Graceland. It is a metaphor for how she will be immersed into Elvis’ (Jacob Elordi) world; she is one of his many possessions. How this happens and how she escapes it are the two bookends of Sofia Coppola’s sympathetic character study.
The film opens in West Germany 1959, where Elvis is doing his army service and Priscilla’s family is stationed. When Priscilla is invited to meet Elvis, she needs to get her parents’ permission to go. The encounter brings her drab life into full color. Elvis is lonely and homesick like Priscilla, and they bond slowly over the course of several meetings — which becomes an issue for the 14-year-old’s parents.
