By Marc S. Sanders
I never watched a telenovela from start to finish. At best, the only footage I’ve seen are on GIF scenes that tease at the over exasperated expressions (bulging eyes, big teeth, big hairstyles, lots of lipstick) of the actors and the characters they are portraying. The Funny Or Die You Tube clips draw their comedy by having the straightest voiceover summarize a season of these miniseries. The stories were not meant for humor, but on the surface, I can’t help but think they are operating with a Naked Gun tongue firmly in an Airplane! cheek.
Emilia Pérez looks like a telenovela compiled into a two-hour film, but as outrageous as the storyline and the sequence of events play out it’s anything but silly. I held an appreciation for the circumstances that writer/director Jacques Audiard set up so that the insurmountable conflicts appeared convincing, and most especially overwhelming. Emilia Pérez performs like an episode of Three’s Company – the one with the misunderstanding – but there are complications that border on bloody violence, life, and death.
Zoe Saldana portrays Rita, a defense attorney for Mexico’s worst criminals, and she despises the purpose she serves for the murderous scum she represents as she assists in getting one thug exonerated after another. Early on in the picture, Saldana espouses her remorse through song and dance all within the middle of a courtroom, because as you quickly learn Audiard’s film is a movie musical.
Shortly after the opening number Rita is summoned by Manitas, the most powerful head of the Mexican drug cartel. He has unlimited resources and cash, and he hires Rita to do a worldwide search for the finest physicians to complete his sex change operation. Once that is complete, the two will arrange the publicly known death of Manitas, send his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and their two children off to hiding in Switzerland, and the drug czar will be replaced by the woman Emilia Pérez. Emilia and Manitas are portrayed by real life trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón.
Four years jump by, and Emilia catches up with Rita, who remains the only person to know of the ruse that took place. Emilia wants Rita to deliver Jessi and the children back to her. The former father will now pose as the wealthy aunt and they will live together in Mexico, going forward.
Rita discovers a new kind of respect for Emilia as the bloody past of this individual have ceased since her sex change. As such, Emilia recalls that her former self was responsible for countless murders and kidnappings, many of which took place under her command. Now she seeks redemption by making herself public with a well-funded campaign that will focus on the recovery of missing people and set up proper burial arrangements so next of kin can have closure. Emilia reveals a common burial site where hundreds of bodies were secretly laid to rest. No one questions how she knows of this area. Yet, she becomes a philanthropic woman who has earned the respect of millions within Mexico. The irony is that she recruits other cartel lords to make sizable donations to this cause. If anything, it makes them look more noble in a public eye.
Elsewhere, simplicity does not hold for her relationship with Jessi. I won’t reveal what occurs because it lends to an ending you might expect. All three leads embrace different perspectives of this storyline, and it only heightens the complexities of the film.
Jacques Audiard is of French descent, and after seeing the film I learned that many have taken issue with him overseeing this project. He does not speak Spanish, has no Mexican heritage and according to many has not embraced a true account of Mexican culture or activity. The movie was also submitted for Oscar contention as the French candidate in the Best Foreign Film category. I’m glad I did not learn of these objections until after seeing Audiard’s film, though. It did not interfere with my take on the picture, and I believe it should not cloud your viewpoint if you intend to see it. (It’s currently showing on Netflix.) There were moments in the film that I predicted would occur such as where a boy on a bicycle is heading with a plastic shopping bag in tow. By that moment, I knew what was to be revealed inside the bag.
The film is soap opera like, especially with the musical numbers that are included. I’d think the songs were composed by Lin Manuel Miranda if I didn’t know better because the lyrics work like dialogue much like you would see in Hamilton or In The Heights. I was taken with the singing performances of Saldana, Gascón, and of course Gomez who works part time as a professional singer anyway. It’s almost operatic how they and other cast members express their conflicting feelings in character. Out of context of the film, I don’t think any of these songs work or would draw an attraction to leave the radio tuned in. The songs are storytelling, but not memorable or catchy with chorus versus.
While I did not mind the song portions, I never missed them when scripted dialogue, primarily in Spanish with English subtitles, was being played. I guess you could say the music makes the film different. A different kind of telenovela, a different kind of crime drama, a different kind of soap opera, and certainly a different kind of musical. Whether you take to the assembly of the film or not, you cannot deny that Emilia Pérez stands out within any one of these categories.
The film is up for the most Oscar nominations in the year 2024, thirteen in total. One thing that is odd though is that Zoe Saldana is competing in the Best Supporting Actress race while Karla Sofía Gascón is up for Best Actress. Even though Gascón plays the title character, I insist it should be the other way around. Saldana occupies most of the running time of the film and as complicated as the character Emilia Pérez is, I found Saldana to be more conflicted as Rita, the outsider looking in with all the secrets held tight in her subconscious. The best way to share her struggles with the audience is to sing them aloud. The long-time action movie star (Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avatar) sets the stage for the whole movie, as soon as the five hundred million studio logos get their street cred at the beginning of the film. (I empathize with Peter Griffin on Family Guy.) Saldana is marvelous in this picture. A stunning performance.
As Emilia Pérez, Karla Sofía Gascón pulls off an intricate stretch as she convincingly plays two very different roles. Had the film not told me, her character could have easily been the second coming of The Crying Game. Unlike Saldana though, once Emilia is brought into the film I didn’t so much see a performance as I heard the problematic narrative that came from the script. I don’t recall any special moments or scenes that wowed me to the point of an Oscar nomination. It’s certainly one of the most unique roles to come along in films lately. So I guess that’s where the justification for special recognition stems from.
Selena Gomez is a powerhouse in her role. She was worthy of a nomination that regrettably did not come. As I understand she cannot speak Spanish fluently and was challenged at times with the dialogue and the singing involved. Beyond Saldana’s introductory number, Gomez has the standout song with her portion of El Trio. Gomez has so many dimensions to this character, as the bubbly airheaded and spoiled wife of the drug czar, who then transitions to a sorrowful and cold caricature after time has passed since her husband has been killed, and later she is vengefully outraged. This is such a standout performance from her lighter material found in Disney programming and Only Murders In The Building. She’s quite fierce.
I liked Emilia Pérez. Artistically speaking, I question the worthiness of some of the recognition though. It’s up for Best Cinematography. Often the picture is grainy, which I believe was deliberate, but intent does not imply the highest order of artistic measure. Maybe it is earning praise due to the transitions during the musical numbers. Nevertheless, this film does not look as sharp as Dune, Alien: Romulus or The Brutalist.
As well, I did not find anything special for its nomination in Sound. Perhaps the sound lends to the music embedded throughout the film. I don’t know. I can’t figure what was merited here, when there are arguably dozens of other films that likely deserved more recognition.
The creative licenses are where the strengths lie in Emilia Pérez. The editing and directing are good with expansive footage of Mexican locales, and transitioning film work during the song and dance portions. It has a screenplay that grabbed me right away. The compounded conflicts that arise feel fresh as one new development introduces itself after another. None of the material is so much for shock value like you would find in a telenovela. The crises all seem to make sense.
It’s not easy once a gender transition is complete, especially for a murderous drug lord. Likewise, it’s not going to be easy for the immediate family or the one person who carries all the secrets that no one else does. Regardless of his background, Jacques Audiard’s film lays enough groundwork and attention for each of these women’s perspectives. He’s simply a storyteller who triumphs with impressionable tales to unfold.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 