In spite of a few surprising shifts in tone and musical numbers that are hit-or-miss, Emilia Pérez pulls off a moving story about one person’s journey to be their authentic self. 

Emilia Pérez Review

It isn’t often that we get a film that takes swings as big as Emilia Pérez. Is it a musical? A crime thriller? Or an attempt at empowering the trans community? The answer is all of the above and it somehow works– at first. Mileage will vary with this one. But, if you’re willing to overlook some of the less than ideal narrative choices and song breaks, focusing on the performances of Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez then you may find yourself moved by Emilia’s journey. This film is unabashedly itself, much like its main character, unafraid of your opinion of it. I respect that and it will be interesting to see if that works in its favor once it releases to the masses on Netflix. 

This film comes across as two storylines shoehorned together into one feature. On one hand you have a crime thriller– a notorious cartel boss is responsible for all this death and destruction in Mexico. But they dream of being the person they have always felt themselves to be. However, changing your body doesn’t change your past. On the other is a musical about embracing your identity and turning over a new leaf to live happily ever after. It’s audacious to say the least to mash these two genres together, but writer/director Jacques Audiard goes a step further and has Emilia Pérez take a left turn followed by a U-turn in its third act. It was surprising and got us all talking, so if that was the reasoning behind his bizarre choices, then it was successful. 

Emilia Pérez begins with Rita (Saldaña), a sharp, under-appreciated lawyer, who is married to her work. After yet another win for her firm, she is contacted by an anonymous caller who wants to set up a meeting with a promise that it’ll make her rich if she accepts. After being abducted and blindfolded, she is taken to meet with Mexican cartel leader Juan ‘Manitas’ Del Monte (Gascón) who wants Rita’s help to find a doctor to perform gender confirmation surgery, completing her transition to becoming the woman she has always known herself to be. Rita agrees and must help fake their death as well as take care of Manitas’ wife Jessie (Selena Gomez), and their two sons. Four years later though, Emilia Pérez (Gascón) reappears in Rita’s life seeking to reconnect with her family and make atonement for past transgressions. 

The first half of the film more-or-less works with the mashup of genres and tells a moving story about Manitas’ transition into Emilia. It’s not an easy decision, as they would be leaving behind their wife and children whom they care for but they must be true to themselves. Gascón is a powerful force as Manitas’ and Emilia, showing the pain and joy that go hand-in-hand with this type of life change. The introduction of Emilia post-surgery is handled with care, with Gascón portraying so much in simple body movements or glances.

Despite the melodrama and chaos running rampant, Audiard, along with cinematographer Paul Guilhaume, and their team find a through-line, offering clarity in the first two acts that is unfortunately lost as the runtime continues. I would like to say I’m not a hater of musicals. I was a theater kid, a choir student, and was raised on Disney musicals. Singing in films is not a problem for me when it makes sense and the songs do something to move the story along (looking at you Joker). All of that to say my biggest frustration with Emilia Pérez was the haphazard music breaks. Some of them succeed in invoking an emotional response from both the performers and those of us watching. One particular heartbreaking scene occurs when Emilia is listening to her son sing a song about his “dead” father. Another standout is when Rita sings and dances around a charity gala’s guests, title “The Bad,” pointing out all the awful things they do as they sit there patting themselves on the back. But for every one that works there are several that fall flat. 

There is actually a song about the various surgeries that can go into gender confirmation including vaginoplasty. It comes across silly and highly miscalculated in a scene that should have (in my opinion) been taken more seriously. The lyrics to several songs leave much to be desired as they sound less like a polished number and more like the first drafts of the writers’ musings. Although I will admit that could partially be due to the translation from Spanish to English subtitles. My years taking Spanish in school had me picking up on things they were saying that the subtitles didn’t convey exactly. 

Despite its flaws, the core trio of women– Gascón, Saldaña, and Gomez took what was given to them and delivered above and beyond expectations. Saldaña gives Rita a sense of justice and steely determination despite the life she finds herself living. She is tired, hardworking, and someone you want to root for. It was also fun to see her get back the dancing roots and live it up in the more upbeat numbers. Gomez takes what could have been a stereotypical role of mob wife and gives Jessie some depth. This is a woman who accepted her place in the world until it was upended, now she wants to live life her way. The climax (although tonally abrupt) gives her a chance to show a different side of her dramatic abilities. Gascón is absolutely incredible here. She gives Manitas a fierceness that is undermined by the pain from not living their truth. While on the flip side, Emilia is imbued with a warmth and openness, Manitas could never have expressed. She is truly amazing to watch in spite of anything bizarre happening with the storyline. 

Verdict

If Emilia Pérez had stayed focused on Emilia’s triumphs and struggles as a trans woman I think it would have landed better. However, Audiard and his co-writers veered off, adding in missing people, an NGO charity, which could have worked to a degree but he didn’t stop there. Emilia also had a romance that came and went in order to bring about a gunfire fueled finale which felt more in line with the beginning of the film than the end. I will give credit where it’s due though. Emilia Pérez is unlike anything I expected and is sure to have film lovers talking all the way through award season. Despite its mismatched tones and pacing, it does present a moving story about one human’s journey to be their authentic self. And for that is worth a watch. 

Emilia Pérez is coming to US theaters November 1 then to Netflix November 13. It is rated R for language, some violent content, and sexual material with a runtime of 2 hours 12 minutes.