Sofia Coppola

In her stunning new film, Priscilla, the director shows a side of Elvis Presley that we haven't seen before

- BRIAN HIATT

IN SOFIA COPPOLA’S eighth feature, the seductive, unsettling Priscilla, she shoots tail-finned Cadillacs as lovingly as she does her latest extraordinary lead actress (Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley), capturing the beauty and hidden darkness inside Graceland — and in America writ large. Along the way, Coppola tells her most haunting coming-of-age tale since her directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides. This time, it’s the true story of a teenager drawn into the all-consuming world of Elvis Presley (Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi, taller and scarier than Austin Butler) at the height of his fame, presenting without overt judgement a scenario most modern viewers will find horrific.

Priscilla feels like the culmination of Coppola’s two and a half decades of filmmaking so far, and the latest confirmation that she’s one of Gen X’s greatest auteurs. But she seems most proud that she’s reaching a new generation of fans, who are seeking her out as she promotes a new career- retrospective coffee-table book, Sofia Coppola Archive.

“We just had a book signing at Barnes & Noble in LA,” she says over coffee at a West Village spot not far from her home, “and I met all these kids that were wearing Virgin Suicides T-shirts, and talking about that and Marie Antoinette. It makes me so happy that they’re connecting to them and appreciate them, because I made them for young people.”

Priscilla really does feel like a summation of your work so far, touching on things you’ve done, but in a really fresh way.