I saw this movie when it first premiered and was instantly captivated by the love story between Elvis and Priscilla. The movie traces their relationship from the time 14 year old Priscilla meets Elvis for the first time until his death some 18 years later. Walters does a terrific job portraying Priscilla. We see that Priscilla allows her entire life to become about Elvis, his world is all she knows, and we see her struggle to find her own way and her own person as his world of celebrity and drug use pulls him further away. This is not a tale of a woman scorned, rather a story of a woman who loved a man deeply and completely until love wasn't enough. The movie shows some ugly sides to Elvis that other biographies didn't cover, but it shows that he is as much a lost little boy as he is a controlling, sometimes violent man. The book does better justice when it comes to demonstrating Elvis' tender side, but the movie does capture the fact that he loves her. She does not invent the Elvis wanted her, brought her to live with him and married her. What this story says is that it is possible to love someone, flaws and all. We grow up with Priscilla through this movie and we suffer her heartbreak as well. I recommend reading the book in addition to seeing the movie, as many things in the movie are chronologically in error and some important personal struggles of both Elvis & Priscilla are left out. Ultimately though, if you want a movie that shows Elvis as some hero, this is not it.
Review of Elvis and Me
