4.0 out of 5.0 stars
“Emilia Perez” is a bombastic musical set in Mexico that has just landed on Netflix. A darling of critics and industry awards — the leads jointly won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival — the film juggles multiple plotlines during its short two-hour runtime: murder, infidelity and gender transitioning, all set against the brutal backdrop of Mexico’s unending drug war.
The film starts with an extended 40-minute prologue, introducing Rita (Zoe Saldana), a successful attorney who begrudgingly specializes in defending rich, morally bankrupt lowlifes. She’s approached by Manitas (Karla Sofia Gascon), a powerful drug lord, to help find a surgeon willing to complete her transition to being a woman, and get her family out of Mexico to somewhere safe from rival cartels. Manitas fakes her own death and reinvents herself as Emilia Perez. While Rita is the star of this prologue, Emilia takes center stage for the rest of the film. This prologue could have easily been trimmed down with a clearer focus on Manitas rather than Rita.
Saldana does a fantastic job at playing up Rita’s anger, as she is sick of the corruption in Mexico. Rita’s acceptance of Manitas’ offer is cleverly depicted as her getting back at the corruption, raking in enough profit to move out of the country rather than falling into its shady politics. In terms of the songs, Saldana carries some of the best musical scenes of the film in “Todo y Nada” and “El Mal” with her aggressively beautiful voice and athletic choreography.
Years later, Emilia finds Rita at a restaurant in London to ask for her help again — this time to bring her family back to Mexico. Believing Manitas is dead, the family initially accepts the lie that Emilia is Manitas’ cousin. But Emilia does a bad job at hiding her identity, being exceedingly touchy with her kids and her unknowing ex-wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez). Feeling guilty for her past crimes as Manitas, Emilia recruits Rita to uncover lost bodies hidden by cartels. Meanwhile, Jessi reconnects with an old flame she previously cheated on Manitas with. For trying to include so much in the story, “Emilia Perez” is admirable in its ambition, but it’s a bit of an overload. When it should focus on fleshing out its more established plots –– like Jessi’s infidelity and Emilia’s guilt –– it adds more of them unnecessarily.
Gascon steals the show in her first feature film since her own gender transition six years ago. Emilia powerfully wields the film’s emotional core as she attempts to reconnect with her family and redeem the wrongs of her past life as Manitas. She impressively plays both Emilia before and after her transition, showcasing dramatically different singing voices, body language and personas for each. Gomez has fantastic musical sequences in “Bienvenida” and “Mi Camino,” while strongly leaning into Jessi’s anger. Unfortunately, Jessi’s character isn’t given enough material for audiences to sympathize more with her struggle, and she doesn’t stand out like Emilia.
Writer-director Jacques Audiard creates a uniquely engaging film that blends themes, genres and ideas not typically associated with musicals. The many songs heavily lean into musical elements and take place over conversations in simple locations like bedrooms, restaurants and kitchens. Some songs, like “La Vaginoplastia,” go from high-energy camp to outright silliness. Other songs are more emotionally resonant, like “Para,” which features an ensemble of volunteers helping Emilia’s efforts to uncover the lost bodies of murder victims. As the film progresses, it’s clear Audiard is attempting to tie all the plotlines under one question: can gender transitioning change one’s perspective on the world or just the body?
Despite a bloated prologue and underused plotlines, “Emilia Perez” shines bright with its musical flashiness and cinematic flair. The performances are engrossing, while the cinematography is stunning. It’s the perfect film for an at home movie night over the Thanksgiving holiday.
