Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, based on a memoir by Priscilla Presley, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Monday and received a 7-minute standing ovation, Variety reports.
The film is an adaptation of Elvis and Me, the 1985 book by Presley and Sandra Harmon. The memoir tells the story of Presley’s 6-year-long marriage to legendary singer Elvis Presley; it was previously adapted into a TV miniseries in 1988.
The movie is Coppola’s first directorial effort since On the Rocks in 2020. Priscilla stars Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy) in the title role and Jacob Elordi (Euphoria) as Elvis Presley; other cast members include Dagmara Domińczyk, Jorja Cadence, and Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll.
Priscilla Presley gave the film her seal of approval, saying, “It’s very difficult to sit and watch a film about you, about your life, about your love. Sofia did an amazing job. She did her homework, we spoke a couple of times, and I really put everything out for her that I could.”
Critics have mostly backed up the Venice audience’s enthusiasm for the movie. Marlow Stern of Rolling Stone called it “a transportive, heartbreaking journey into the dark heart of celebrity, and her finest film since Lost in Translation,” while the Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney praised it as “an impeccable union of director and subject.”
Priscilla is scheduled for a theatrical release on Oct. 27.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
