Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N' Roll by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Sandra Harmon, Priscilla Presley – adapted for the big screen by the latter and Sofia Coppola, who directs the motion picture Priscilla - 8 out of 10

 

Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N' Roll by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Sandra Harmon, Priscilla Presley – adapted for the big screen by the latter and Sofia Coppola, who directs the motion picture Priscilla

8 out of 10

 

 

Sofia Coppola is one of the most talented film makers and her Lost In Translation, Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/02/marie-antoinette-written-and-directed.html are three wonderful motion pictures that have proved that the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola is just as good as her father

 

Neverthless, Priscilla seems to be missing something, vitality, je ne sais quoi, some sparks, an an energy, albeit it is also a case of ‚too high expectations’, just like it happened with Killers of The Flower Moon https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2023/12/one-of-best-movies-of-2023-killers-of.html the latest Scorsese film

Paul Schrader, the one who wrote the scripts of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/05/ragging-bull-and-scary-macaws.html for Martin Scorsese, has given an interview in which he says that Leonardo Di Caprio should have been the agent, ‚being in the company of an idiot for three hours is a very long time’, a veiled criticism, if this is not a misinterpretation...

 

Cailee Spaeny has been appreciated for her performance, she has won the Vulpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival, and she is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role, where the favorite to win is the thespian that keeps Killers of The Flower Moon rolling, Leonardo Di Caprio is not at his zenith there

There is another part of the problem with the motion picture – by the way, let me put in the spoiler alert, disclaimer here, you should not read further, if you have reached (too) this far, since it will not be good enough, if at all, and besides, if these notes are about formulating an opinion, well, that is expressed above, where it is stated that the story is compelling, but the telling might suffer, it is not the best i have seen -

 

Elvis is portrayed by Jacob Elordi, a skilled thespian, that we have seen in Saltburn https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2023/12/one-of-best-films-of-2023-outre-saltburn.html where the acting is much better, the priviledged aristocrat that masturbates in the bath, floats on a cloud is convincing and multi-faceted

By the way, Saltburn is pushing the limits, Emerald Fernell, the writer – director shows the audidnce how the anti-hero drinks the leftover water from the bath in which Elordi aka his character had masturbated and furthermore, when the sister is on her period and says so, the same negative hero does not mind cunnilingus and then shares some of the blood he has on his mouth with the young woman...have not seen that before, in a mainstream feature, and one nominated and winner of so many awards

 

Priscilla Beaulieu is only fifteen when she gets to meet the world famous Elvis Presley, and here we have one of the themes of the narrative, the statutory rape that may or may not have taken place, however literal that could have been, the ethics of the relationship are clear, though there were different standards

It must be said that american states that vote with Orange Jesus – this is the name that republican leaders have given to the idiot that claims to be ‚a very stable genius’, among monkeys perhaps – tend to alow that a marriage with a minor would swipe away accustations of sexual nature, or that was the situation a while ago, if i am not wrong

 

The child is invited to the house of the rock star, in Germany, where Elvis is doing his military service and the father of the girl, Captain Beaulieu, is also stationed...the latter is strict in many ways, opposing the idea of the party, and then later the developments, the intense connection that would be stablished between the two

We have a complex situation nonetheless, for we do see Elvis Presley keeping away from the too young woman, she even looks like pressing ahaed at one stage, and he is insisting that they have time and must wait for a proper time, presuambly to have sex later, if he then says we can do other things...what that would be, you could imagine

 

Presley does invite him to his room, so that they can be alone, and this is where they will kiss, and engagge in what today would be called ‚sexual harassment’, unless we are talking of Muslim countries, propably the ardent evangelicals, obsessed with fetuses, children, as many as possible, and under any circumstances, if there is marriage

They keep this bond secret, for as long as possible, the girl is not yet out of high school, when they first met she was just in ninth grade (reason enough to keep away, but the rock star did not) and then she wants to stay with him, against her parents wishes, those have to retereat though, when it is clear that the girl is determined

 

They even have some papers signed by the relatives of Elvis, who promise in writing that they will look after her, once she moves into the mansion in Memphis (called Graceland, i think) where for soem time, she looks like she is happy, and maybe she is, but it will only last for a short time – their whle marriage is only some five years long?

The man soon becomes abusive, ceats on her, is flirting with women while she is in the room, she even gives her drugs, the first time she takes one of those pills, she sleeps for two whole days, and we know that Elvis Presley will desintigrate, get obese, addicted to drugs, which will in the end kill him...

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world   – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

Some favorite quotes from To The Heritage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”