The Girlhood Horror of Priscilla

An Essay

Priscilla (2023)

Priscilla is a movie with all of the gorgeous costuming, and buzzy actors, and engaging montages that we’ve come to expect from Oscar contenders. However, what sets Priscilla apart is that it is one of the few prestige films made specifically with teenage girls feelings and perceptions in mind. The costuming, while truly stunning, also hones in on the accessories that you would expect to find in the possession of a young girl who is trying to seem more mature. These include the bottle of Chanel no. 5 Priscilla places daintily on the counter and the white ‘too-big’ heels she often walks around Graceland in. The stunning montages (of which Sofia Coppola is known for) are of fun days filming by the pool, riding around in go carts, and roller-skating, activities we’ve come to associate with being a teenage girl on summer break. Even the actors are names that you can guarantee your parents have never heard. Meanwhile Jacob Elordi is a household name for anyone under the age of 24. As someone who used to be a teenage girl, it is easy to see how you could watch Priscilla and be able to see your own life reflected back at you, which makes the horror of the film that much more captivating and stark in comparison to the glitz and sheen.

Oh yes, Priscilla is a horror movie through and through. It may not be shot like one, marketed as one, and no other critics may consider it one, but it is horrifying and inspires a sense of unease in its viewers. Which in my opinion, was the perfect direction to go in for a film with this subject matter. For one, it’s never been properly communicated in popular media just how young Priscilla was when she met and began a relationship with Elvis. For whatever reason it’s just been beehive hair and heavy eye-makeup for decades and nothing that really sent home just how much of a baby she was. Thankfully, Cailee Spaeny was perfectly cast to show Priscilla as such. The first shot we see in the film is Priscilla doing her 9th grade math homework in a diner and it never lets up from there. It’s ponytails and dresses with buttons and military base high school until Elvis decides it isn’t anymore. In contrast, Jacob Elordi is literally 6’ 5” and is constantly emitting slender-man menace so you never forget for a moment that Elvis was a monster and should be regarded as such.

Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla

Ultimately this is a film about the horrors of grooming and predation of underage girls. As Priscilla sighs and dreams of Elvis, we watch the adults around him scheme to get her alone with him. We often see them pressuring her parents to allow her to travel alone to be with him. Also, Elvis is surrounded by men either in his band or his personal entourage who are never far away from him and by extension, help swallow Priscilla into the world of Elvis. They’re there in place of her family at her high school graduation. They pack her wedding reception. They’re even there watching during some of the abuse she experienced from Elvis, including a shocking moment in the studio. Her entire life becomes Elvis, pills supplied by Elvis, and satisfying his every whim. After a certain point, the only times we get to see her alone is when she’s sitting around thinking about Elvis. It’s haunting how fully her life was stolen from her and just how many people facilitated this robbery. Almost as haunting as realizing just how easy it all was and by extension, how easy it is to prey on young girls in general.

Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla

It’s no secret that there is an issue with predation by older men towards teenage and young girls. With the proliferation of the internet, online grooming has been an effective tool for predators everywhere. In the UK, a study done last year determined that online grooming crimes have risen by over 80% since 2017 with 82% of these cases being against young girls. While social media sites and parents are working towards finding new ways of protecting girls online, we need to utilize other tools at our disposal. That is why films like Priscilla are so powerful. A good film that respects and honors young women while giving them a blueprint to identify predation in their own lives in invaluable. In fact, my very own showing had six teenage girls sitting behind me, chatting and making astute commentary and I was so incredibly relieved to hear that they were really getting it, despite how appealing Jacob Elordi as Elvis was. To me, that marks this film as a resounding success in addition to being an incredible watch. (9/10)