Giving us guns, gowns and glossy red nails, Sofia Coppola skilfully evokes an era and a particular kind of lifestyle in Priscilla. Drawing from Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Elvis And Me, the film offers a different, much darker spin on Priscilla and Elvis’ relationship than Baz Luhrmann’s recent Elvis biopic. It’s alive to the thrill of falling head-over-heels for a heartthrob and to the smothering, troubling circumstances the young Priscilla finds herself in.

Coppola suggests that the teenage Priscilla was groomed for a life of chaste subservience by a powerful man claiming to respect her. Just 14 when she meets him, the film shows how Priscilla is whisked up in a surreal fantasy as she moves in with Elvis whilst still at school, provoking envy and derision from her peers, who she’s totally alienated from. Graceland becomes her prison, with Priscilla instructed to ‘keep the home fires burning’ as Elvis spreads his wings, pursuing his acting and singing careers, alongside other women.

Priscilla is played with exquisite sensitivity by Cailee Spaeny, a rising star who has already shown her versatility in The Craft: Legacy, Devs and Mare Of Easttown. Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi makes a decent Elvis, too. If he lacks the superstar charisma of Austin Butler, his take on the King feels more plausible, with an unpleasant edge. Beautifully shot and dreamy, Coppola’s latest is a fascinating subversion of a fairytale romance. We see it all through the eyes of this lovestruck young woman, who gradually wises up to the controlling nature of her famous beau.

Priscilla is in cinemas from Monday 1 January.