The Eye Makeup Is Everything in ‘Priscilla’

livemint.com:

Priscilla Presley rarely speaks for very long in “Priscilla," the new movie about her life. Instead, her eye makeup delivers a bold statement about the truth of being married to Elvis. In a quick opening sequence, Priscilla, portrayed by Cailee Spaeny, applies black eyeliner to create a perfect batwing.

False eyelashes—real human hair, the box promises—come next, on top of a thick swath of mascara. Under the director Sofia Coppola’s trancelike gaze, closeups bring attention to Priscilla’s every blink. The state of her eye makeup—from none to heavy to nearly washed clean—tracks her evolution from girl to wife to free woman.

The film, which opens nationwide Friday, is the story of Priscilla’s transformation through her relationship with Elvis. The movie, written by Coppola, was co-executive produced by Priscilla Presley and is based on her 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me." “The eye makeup was such a huge part in the emotional journey of Priscilla’s storytelling and how it was really a part of her fitting into his world," said Spaeny, 25, whose Priscilla, though intoxicated by Elvis, eventually abandons his idea of beauty. “You see this young girl mold herself into who she thinks she needs to be for this man, and then the journey of her finally shedding that." Even when she’s in labor, Priscilla glues on false eyelashes before going to the hospital.

When she cries, her face streaks with black mascara. Her eyes are so central that A24, the studio that is releasing the movie, is promoting a $49 “Priscilla" eye makeup set with the cosmetics company Half Magic that includes mascara, liquid eyeliner and a guide for a do-it-yourself 1960s cat eye. (On set, makeup artists used a Tom Ford eye-defining liquid pen to create Spaeny’s look.)