TEXAS, USA — PRISCILLA
Last year's blockbuster movie "Elvis" shined the spotlight on the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Now comes a more intimate movie that looks at the other half of the iconic couple: Elvis Presley's dream girl, "Priscilla."
Based on the memoir "Elvis and Me," Sofia Coppola directs. She's made a career of capturing the emotions of teen girls. Think "The Virgin Suicides" or "Marie Antoinette." The star of both those movies, Kirsten Dunst, recommended Cailee Spaeny to play the title role.
As Elvis, it's "Euphoria" star Jabob Elordi. Both actors are strong, though Elordi tends to mumble. He's 6 feet, 5 inches. She's 5 feet, 1 inch. The height difference is awkward on screen, no matter how high Priscilla's beehive hair style got.
Forget height difference, let’s talk age difference! The movie begins when Priscilla and Elvis meet. She was 14. He was 24. It concludes when she leaves him at the gates of Graceland.
Courting a 14-year-old when you're 24 seems predatory even back then. I found it creepy from the opening strains of the Frankie Avalon song, "Venus." They did not secure the Elvis catalog, so we hear: 'Venus, if you will, please send a little girl for me to thrill.'
Later on, he directs her up to his bedroom and says he'll meet her there. It happens more than once. Supposedly all innocent 'til their wedding night. Psychological abuse? You can see that, too. It's his world, she's just his little dress-up doll until finally, she can't take it anymore. Viewing a 60-year-old story through today's lens, it's easy to take sides when private stories go public. It will certainly be a conversation starter, a well-made one.
(A24. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 53 mins. In Theaters Only)
RADICAL
Eugenio Derbez is best known for his comedic work like the movie "Overboard" or the streaming series "Acapulco." But in "Radical," a departure. It’s his first dramatic lead.
Based on a remarkable true story, a teacher named 'Sergio' accepts a job with an underperforming school in a corrupt and violent Mexican border town. How underperforming? The class he's assigned to had tested among the worst in the country. So, he decides to alter the approach to learning. He challenges their imaginations and enlightens them with unconventional methods. You're probably able to guess the outcome. This doesn't come without heartbreaking stories among the kids - a girl who must balance her love of learning against her mother's need for child care.. a boy, the class clown, who's destined to become part of a violent gang. He wants to stay in school, though, because he has a crush on the star pupil who comes from the most impoverished home of all.
We've seen plenty of inspirational teacher movies, but this one is special, and Derbez shows his emotional range beautifully. It’s a winner. (Spanish language with English subtitles)
(Pantelion Films/ Participant/3PAS Studios. Rated PG-13. Running Time 2 hrs. 15 mins. In Theaters Only)
THE PERSIAN VERSION
This might be the snappiest title of the year!
"The Persian Version" won the audience award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, a very personal story by Iranian-American writer/director Maryam Keshavarz. She calls it her true story.. sort of. Set in the 1990s, the protagonist 'Leila' is bit of a rebel.. not unlike her mom who moved to New York from Iran with her husband and became a successful real estate agent. We find out, she was actually escaping a major scandal back in her homeland. Leila, on the other hand, is gay, but along the way, becomes pregnant by an actor starring in Broadway's "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Life can be complicated, so can mother-daughter relationships, as Leila is constantly challenged to earn her mother's approval.
This is a fun little movie, though a flashback to her mother's scandal comes too late and lasts too long. Leila occasionally breaks the fourth wall - a device that doesn't always work, but it does here.
(Sony Pictures Classics. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 47 mins. In Theaters Only)
WHAT HAPPENS LATER
We haven't seen Meg Ryan in a movie in eight years. And yes, I've missed her. She returns in a Rom-Com that she co-wrote and directed, called "What Happens Later." She plays a free-spirited traveler who runs into her ex-boyfriend played by David Duchovny.
A fierce snowstorm has stranded both of them at a regional airport on Leap Day. She's on her way to Austin, him to Boston. She's 'Willa D.' He's 'William D.' Conveniently cute. Over the course of a night, they peel back the layers of their relationship and why they broke up.. even manage to dance and hijack a cart.
The film is based on the play "Shooting Star" by Steven Dietz, and it often feels like a two-person play on screen. The only other character is the voice of the airport announcer who occasionally addresses them directly. This movie isn't even close to what made Ryan box office magic, but there's something cozy about seeing her slip back into the genre. And it's always good to see the charming Duchovny.
(Bleecker Street. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 45 mins. In Theaters Only)
FINGERNAILS
This is the oddest title for an interesting romance film.
Two of my favorite young actors, Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed star in "Fingernails." They work in a love institute, run by Dallas's Luke Wilson, where they determine whether couples are a perfect match by analyzing their fingernails in a machine that looks like an old microwave. Yes, a fingernail is pulled off of each, and the results show whether they should continue their relationship! It's a true test of the pain you're willing to endure for love, according to writer/director Chris Nikou, in his English language debut. Buckley and Ahmed look like they’re going to fall for each other. But wait, she already has a perfectly fine partner, played by "The Bear's" Jeremy Allen White. What's a girl to do? Maybe undergo the test herself?
I really like this film in all its quirkiness. It makes me want to seek out the filmmaker's prior Greek-language film, "Apples." Cate Blanchette liked it so much, she produced this one.
(Apple Original Films. Rated R. Running Time 1 hr. 53 mins. Streaming Only.)
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