Top 10 Things Priscilla (2023) Got Factually Right & Wrong
#10: Terry West Wrong
The film opens with Priscilla alone at a diner where she’s approached by a soldier named Terry West, who asks her this seemingly innocent question. Several significant details are changed here. Priscilla was at the Eagles Club with her half-brother Don, who’s absent from the film. A man did invite Priscilla to Elvis’ house, but his name was Currie Grant. This was likely changed due to Grant’s involvement in a book entitled “Child Bride.” Author Suzanne Finstad claimed that Priscilla promised Grant sexual favors to meet Elvis, whom she slept with on their second date. Denouncing the book as a lie, Priscilla sued Grant, who was found guilty of defamation. Coppola’s film borrows nothing from “Child Bride,” instead adapting from “Elvis and Me,” which Priscilla co-authored.
#9: Priscilla’s Age When They Met Right
Jacob Elordi as Elvis in Priscilla (2023) VS Austin Butler as Elvis (2022)
Priscilla met Elvis at a party while he was serving in Germany. At the time, Elvis was 24 while Priscilla was only 14. Even in 1959, the age gap raised more than a few eyebrows, but the film adds context that most headlines leave out. Although Priscilla’s parents allowed Elvis to take their daughter out, her father basically interrogated him first. The film also stresses that while their courtship was unconventional, they didn’t rush into things. When Elvis left Germany in 1960, he stayed in contact with Priscilla over the phone. A 17-year-old Priscilla visited Elvis in 1962. She’d move to Memphis and Graceland the following year, but even then, Elvis was old-fashioned.
#8: Elvis Told Priscilla What to Wear Right
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Stacey Battat’s Oscar-worthy costume design practically tells a story, transforming Priscilla from a young schoolgirl to Mrs. Presley. In “Elvis and Me,” Priscilla says that Elvis taught her how to dress, walk, apply makeup, wear her hair, and behave. She proceeds to write, “Over the years he became my father, husband, and very nearly God.” Elvis would tell Priscilla to get rid of clothes that “didn’t suit her” and that her eyes looked “too plain” without makeup. Priscilla claims that she “always” had a little makeup on. Apparently, this included when she went into labor with Lisa Marie Presley. Reflecting on this period of her life, Priscilla described herself as “Elvis’s doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased.”
#7: Priscilla Cheated on Her Final Exam Right
Although Priscilla moved in with Elvis while she was a teenager, her parents had strict stipulations that she finish high school. Elvis agreed that this was important, helping to enroll Priscilla in a Memphis school. Rounding out her senior year at Immaculate Conception High School, Priscilla feared getting close to other students due to her relationship with Elvis. Staying out late with Elvis, she took amphetamines to get her through the school days. Priscilla knew that she wasn’t going to pass her algebra final. Not wanting to be sent home to her parents, Priscilla turned to Janet, a straight-A student. When asked if she’d like to attend one of Elvis’ parties, Janet didn’t hesitate to slide her paper over to Priscilla, who got an A.
#6: Elvis Asked a Pregnant Priscilla for a Separation Right
Priscilla was conflicted upon becoming pregnant, but when presented with a choice, she told Elvis, “I could never live with myself, neither could you.” While Elvis declared his commitment to their child, his commitment to Priscilla was called into question during her pregnancy. Only two months away from her due date, Elvis called Priscilla into his office. Feeling that things “weren’t going right,” Elvis thought it would be good for them to have a trial separation. Priscilla was shocked, but she also found a “new strength” at that moment. Standing up, Priscilla said, “You’ve got it. Just tell me when to leave.” Although Priscilla was heartbroken, she didn’t take Elvis’ suggestion that seriously. After two days, the two acted as if nothing had happened.
#5: Priscilla Didn’t Travel with Elvis Wrong
Other than a few people like Elvis’ father and her dog Honey, Priscilla had little company in Graceland. Even when Elvis returned to Priscilla, they spent much of their time in the bedroom. Although Coppola paints an accurate portrait of Priscilla’s isolation, her life beyond the bedroom is somewhat glanced over. Priscilla did actually travel from Memphis to L.A. with Elvis during her pregnancy. While she only occasionally joined Elvis in Hollywood, Priscilla was “perfectly happy” occupying herself at dance class and going to dinner with friends when he was away. Both valued their privacy, but Elvis found ways to get them out of the house, taking Priscilla skating and renting out venues. The film omits most of these chapters, focusing on Priscilla’s loneliness.
#4: The Drugs Right
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Between bulldozing his uncle’s old house and giving Priscilla a pearl-handled derringer, life with Elvis was unpredictable, to say the least. Elvis also introduced Priscilla to pills, once putting her to sleep for about two days. Although Elvis and Priscilla regularly used amphetamines, they only briefly experimented with marijuana and LSD. Bodyguard Sonny West was around to supervise when the couple went on an LSD trip with their friends. At first, the drug didn’t seem to have much of an effect. Soon enough, though, Priscilla thought that Elvis’ shirt was changing colors and that it was getting larger. At one point, she was purring in Elvis’ walk-in closet. Priscilla called the experience “extraordinary,” but they agreed it was “too dangerous” to ever repeat.
#3: Elvis’ Violent Outbursts Right
How Elvis Has Been Portrayed Over the Years
The film doesn’t shy away from the darkest moment throughout Priscilla’s marriage. One night, a pillow fight turned ugly when Elvis grabbed Priscilla’s arm and accidentally hit her in the eye. Elvis quickly apologized and, despite occasionally joking about the incident, continued to express regret over the coming days. Priscilla was nonetheless frightened, motivating her to take fewer pills. She was frightened again when Elvis hurdled a chair at her. Priscilla merely said that she didn’t like one of his demo records. While she dodged out of the way, one of the records on the chair hit Priscilla’s face. Again, Elvis immediately apologized for his actions. Moments like this weren’t frequent, but when Elvis was angry, Priscilla compared it to “the roar of thunder.”
#2: Elvis Was the Only One Who Had Affairs Wrong
Priscilla became convinced that Elvis was having an affair with actress Ann-Margret after finding a telegram with the name “Scoobie.” Although the film delves into Elivis’ infidelity, Priscilla’s affairs are only alluded to. Priscilla is briefly seen getting close to her karate teacher, Mike Stone. While the film leaves the nature of their relationship somewhat ambiguous, Priscilla has come out about the affair. Elvis supposedly enlisted a hitman to take out Stone, but nothing came of this. In addition to Stone, Priscilla had a fleeting affair with her dance instructor, who isn’t in the film. Where that affair came and went, Priscilla and Stone’s relationship left her with an important decision to make. Despite still loving Elvis, Priscilla needed to take control of her life.
#1: They Didn’t Have Sex Before Marriage Right
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Although they met when Priscilla was 14 and started living together by her late teens, Elvis remained adamant that they wait until marriage. Elvis wasn’t a virgin, but he was drawn to Priscilla’s purity and wanted to preserve it. That said, they did find other ways to satisfy each other. The closest they came to having sex before marriage was on New Year’s Eve 1962 after having a few drinks. Elvis finally proposed on Christmas 1966 when Priscilla was 21. Priscilla was nearing her 22nd birthday when they tied the knot in Las Vegas. Reflecting on her marriage to Elvis and divorce six years later, Priscilla said, “He was the love of my life, but I had to find out about the world.” What did you think of “Priscilla?” Let us know in the comments!
