Priscilla & Me: Movie Nostalgia II
You’ve lost me to a life of my own…
“Obviously doctor, you’ve never been a 13 year old girl.”
PBP at 13-years-old (Elvis and Me, 1985) and depicted in film adaptations Elvis and Me 1989 and Priscilla 2023.
What does every 13-year old want?
Acceptance.
Most find it in BFFs. Pricilla BeauLieu Presley found it in Elvis.
Rage in a tween girl is not expected. Often dismissed. Until she finally gets loud. (Priscilla, 2023)
Tween girls watching a tween girl fangirl her way into fan-wife prevails age and time. Love, communication and teenage dreams have changed in the 35 years since the initial adaptation of the former Mrs. Presley’s personal history. Stories This intriguing certainly invite memories about how the world Has shaped girls into women. For some, too soon.
Dale Midriff (Elvis) was in Pet Sematary and Susan Walters (‘Cilla) was in actual soap operas. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Elvis and Me, adapted from Priscilla Presley’s 1985 autobiography, was a miniseries on regular ’80’s turn-the-dial TV. Not exactly a piece of art. More of a soap opera. Oddly, both tools induce emotions. So beguiling, it inspired Martin Gore of Depeche Mode to compose Personal Jesus (1989).
Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) and Jacob Elordi (Elvis) in Sofia Coppola’s less literal take on Elvis and Me. Same but different. It was shot in 30 days with budget constraints. (Priscilla, 2023).
Sofia Coppola’s 2023 adaptation Priscilla does not deviate from the original 1988 miniseries. The original did not hide the other side of Elvis. The Placidyl pills and that night in the hotel suite are stored in the hippocampus. Today’s viewers will experience an evolved artistic appeal. If you’re familiar with Coppola and A24, then you know disappointment will not be met.
Think: The Virgin Suicides.
Schoolgirl thoughts. PBP concentrating on her night before watching Elvis eat bacon with mustard instead of 9th grade. Elvis was the original K-Pop boy band solo act. (Priscilla, 2023)
“We felt the imprisonment of being a girl.”
Significant points in Priscilla’s life- the decisions she made as a 14-year-old in 1959 to the stand she took as a 28-year-old woman- may not be in extreme contrast to today’s viewers. Despite technological and social advancements, we still have “heartthrob” crushes, maturity-complexes, and questionable age gaps with significant others.
Question of the century: What 24-year-old is into a 14-year-old? (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Watching her love story at the advent of Anna Wintour’s Vogue and intercontinental internet chats, tweens were drawn into the parallels of Cilla’s life. Her inadvertent idol status has endured from her generation to her daughter’s, and now to her grand-daughter’s.
These are things remembered from the 1988 miniseries.
“We knew the girls were women in disguise… that they understood love.”
Priscilla’s Metamorphosis
Expressive Eyes. Gaining acceptance uses several devices. Kajal may be the first real makeup after lipgloss a tween is allowed to wear usually in an attempt to move on from girl to woman status. (Priscilla, 2023)
“She’s a lot more mature for her age.”
Elvis transformed Priscilla on a parentally forbidden getaway to Vegas. Apparently, she failed at impressing him with her chosen grown-up styles. Why hadn’t he noticed her Chanel Number Five? They dumped her curled ponytail and schoolgirl dresses. She walked out of the elevator as a jet black jet-setter- bouffant hair, inky eyes, skintight dress and a femme fatale self-assurance. Daddy’s little military brat-no-more as she stepped off the plane in Germany pining to be back with Elvis- mascara running down her baby cheeks balanced with a mouth plumped with threats of a ‘new me’. Her defiance reverberates in every girl throughout time who wants to grow up right this minute.
A shopping trip and complete make over is every 14-year-old’s dream. Right? (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Placing a jewel in the hair was tried. Trust us. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
He didn’t notice the Chanel perfume. We call this defiant grieving liner. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Her Religious Devotion
A less literal adaptation is expected for Coppola’s version. (Priscilla, 2023)
On a playfully romantic outing in the snow, Priscilla proclaimed she would ‘just die’ without him. Her idolatry of a man 10 years her senior- an old guy- was complicating. Except when imagining the magnetism of one of the only rockstars who continues to reign decades after his death. Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus, interpreted this devotion as a method of obtaining support as a young girl who is just figuring out life while she thinks she’s figured out life. Apparently, Elvis’ heart was that of God.
Devotion in the snow remains a strong memory. One tween was clueless. Awkward. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Idolatry of Elvis. She was enamored with him at a concert near the end. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
It seemed like Priscilla cried all the time resulting in failed efforts to impress her Jesus, Elvis. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
“Reach out and touch faith.
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Someone who’s there
Feeling unknown and you’re all alone
Flesh and bone by the telephone
Lift up the receiver, I’ll make you a believer I will deliver, you know I’m a forgiver.”
The Fierceness of Independence
Who’s willing to tell The King he has bad style? (Priscilla, 2023)
“You’ve lost me to a life of my own.”
Finally by the 70’s, Priscilla is fed up. Her fangirl days are long over despite Elvis’ 100 extra pounds of charisma. The scene at his Vegas concert and at her front door signified saying goodbye to true love. One that just didn’t work with real life’s time stamps. Anyone at any age in any era cannot help but feel sorry for the whole lost thing.
Been there, done that. Priscilia has one foot out the door. Again. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Moving on from true love. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
This scene is a lot sadder with Are You Lonesome Tonight playing in the background. We understand ’Cilla. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Priscilla screens at the NY Film Festival on October 6, 8 and 15, and releases on November 3.
Bonus Scene: Elvis shoots the TV. Who actually does that? The King. Priscilla was encouraged to defend herself with guns and karate due to Elvis’ increasing paranoia. (Elvis and Me, 1988)
Science is ARt
The story is the same, the title is abridged and time has passed. Our life stories and memories are chosen.
1988 was a leap year. It told girls they could design anti-HIV drugs by awarding Gertrude B. Elion the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. 1959 saw the first known HIV-related death. It is also the year that gave the same award to Sylvy Kornberg’s husband after she made “significant contributions” to their scientific discovery. The debut of Barbie likely rectified this considering the craze induced by the 2023 billion-dollar blockbuster film. Tween in the 50’s and ‘80’s took all of this in along with their personal experiences. This phenomenon is not exclusive of PBP.
Our memories are selective. Whether subconsciously repressed or purposely forgotten, the hippocampus stores personal histories based on emotional impact. Sometimes we remember scenes of different life moments as one. Other times we can’t explain why a seemingly insignificant memory is stronger than a more meaningful one. The regulation of the storage process by the brain is also dependent on life stage and emotional maturity. Memories guide us in the decision-making process throughout life. Early-life experiences are particularly impactful.
Priscilla published her story in 1985 at the age of 40, which was told in a more mature perspective eight years after the death of Elvis. Her story is again retold an astounding 64 years after an idol changed her life. As a woman in her 70’s, she offered evolved perspective as a grandmother in a completely different decade to Coppola’s take in the 2023 remake of Elvis and Me.
READ MORE
You’ve lost me to me