First film in the cinema of 2024! We begin with Priscilla, the answer to the question “what if Lana Del Rey but good”.
It’s an entirely understandable Sofia Coppola joint; of course this is the story she’d be attracted to, and she does it well. It’s refreshingly anti-didactic - she just sets it all out and lets you decide.
It’s a marked contrast with last year’s Elvis! (contractually obligated exclamation mark included). There is no lionisation of Elvis, but it’s also clear why she might have fallen for him. The mercurial relationship does make sense.
Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi both put in excellent turns, both revelations in their own way. For Spaeny, it’s a tour de force, going through pretty much every stage of grief for her own young life, even if she doesn’t quite realise it. Whereas Elordi is a bit more one-note, but it’s a) a good note and b) a very different note to his role in Saltburn.
All that being said, where were the Naked Gun years? Cowards.