Whereas Elvis was a glitzy, hyperactive portrait of the titular singer\u2019s rise and fall, Sofia Coppola\u2019s new film is a more subdued affair, focusing on the relationship between Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) and Elvis (Jacob Elordi) from the perspective of the former.<\/p>\n
The film is based on Priscilla\u2019s own 1985 memoir Elvis and Me<\/a>, and star Spaeny detailed during an exclusive interview<\/a> with RadioTimes.com<\/a> how she had extensive discussions with the pop culture icon.<\/p>\n \u201cSo much gets answered when you\u2019re just sitting right in front of the woman herself,\u201d she said. \u201cThe way she presents herself, the way she talks, how she goes about spending this time with me. It answered 1,000 questions just to be able to look her in the eye.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI felt really grateful that she was open to doing that with me, and watching her eyes light up, like she was right in that moment with him or telling these inside jokes that they had together, the specific memories that they shared \u2013 it was such a gift to have.\u201d<\/p>\n The film\u2019s release hasn\u2019t been without controversy \u2013 with the late Lisa-Marie Presley having described the initial script<\/a> as \u201cshockingly vengeful and contemptuous\u201d, and explaining that she didn\u2019t \u201csee any of my father in this character\u201d, as reported by Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, just how accurate is the film? Read on for everything you need to know.<\/p>\n Based on the available sources, it appears that the film is a broadly accurate though naturally incomplete account of Elvis and Priscilla\u2019s relationship from their first meeting in 1959 \u2013 when Priscilla was just 14 \u2013 to their divorce in 1973.<\/p>\n Coppola and Spaeny were both in contact with Priscilla during production to ensure this accuracy, although there are a couple of instances where some dramatic licence has been taken, as is customary for Hollywood retellings of true stories.<\/p>\n Many of the scenes depicting Elvis\u2019s controlling and aggressive nature towards Priscilla in the film are taken directly from the latter\u2019s personal account.<\/p>\n For example, according to Priscilla\u2019s memoir, she did once fall into a coma for two days<\/a> after taking sleeping pills given to her by Elvis, who did throw a chair at her in a fit of rage<\/a>, while she also claimed in her account that her husband exerted great control over the way she dressed and expressed herself and that he forbade her from working<\/a>.<\/p>\n A scene in which Priscilla tells Elvis she is leaving him is taken practically word for word from Priscilla\u2019s memoir, and therefore seems likely to be a faithful reenactment of the discussion as it happened, or at least as Priscilla remembers it.<\/p>\n As has been well documented, it\u2019s true, too, that Priscilla was just 14 when she met Elvis \u2013 who was 10 years her senior \u2013 and Coppola explained during an interview with Rolling Stone<\/a> how it was \u201ctricky\u201d to portray this meeting sensitively.<\/p>\nPriscilla true story: How accurate is the film?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Cailee](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/Cailee-Spaeny-in-Priscilla-3ab42d3.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Cailee")
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