Emilia Perez

Starring: Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Ivanir, Eduardo Aladro
Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Musical, Thriller
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A lawyer (Zoe Saldana) is recruited by a Mexican drug cartel boss (Karla Sofia Gascon/ who wants to transition to a new life.

Review:

Tim: Now, for most of the end-of-year award-winning movies, I can see why they get so much acclaim. Even for the ones I don't love myself, I get it, I see how others might have loved them. I have to admit, I'm struggling a bit reconciling the praise I've heard for Emilia Perez with the actual quality of the film. I do want to be clear- Jacques Audiard's film is unique, innovative, ambitious, and overall, a good movie. The Academy Award nominations haven't been announced of this writing, but Emilia Perez has been nominated for 11 BAFTAs, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy. Dozens of other nominations and awards are likely to come. I'm not entirely sure why. This is a good movie, but a flawed one.

I do want to talk a bit about the controversy surrounding this movie, although I won't be able to weigh in much on it. As I understand it, there's two main controversies. The first is that a French director makes a French production about Mexico and Mexican culture, and there's some criticism that he never bothered to understand it or make it authentic. I'm not an expert on Mexican culture, so I have no idea. I do think it's a little odd that this is a French film when nothing about it is French. It did make me wonder where is the line- American films come out every year set all over the world. So, I hear the complaints, but I don't know enough to understand. The second big complaint area is around the trans community and how this trans woman is portrayed on screen. Again, I'm not well-versed in this area, so I don't know if they took the wrong perspective or whatever the criticism is. I thought that aspect of the film was handled decently well, but my cis perspective doesn't get a very loud voice in that conversation. So, this film does have controversy surrounding it.

I acknowledge that, but without being better informed, I have to leave that conversation to the experts. My slightly more well-informed opinion is that it bothers me that Zoe Saldana has been campaigned as Supporting Actress, and Karla Sofia Gascon as Lead. That makes no sense- I get she's the titular character, but Saldana has significantly more screen time and acts as the conduit for the audience. It feels very much like she's the protagonist of the film. That just feels like shifting reality for awards, which I do not care for.

So yes, many controversies and potential criticisms here. For me, though, the biggest question is around the quality of the film. And, I'm not sure it's ever great. Oh sure, it's wildly innovative- when is the last time you saw a Musical drama/thriller? Audiard crafts a movie that feels wholly unique and audacious, when you consider the depths of Mexican culture and the trans community themes that the movie also explores. I wish those two groups didn't have such vocal complaints about the film, but you could never accuse Audiard of playing it safe. There's value in big gambles, and he (and Netflix) certainly took one here. This movie is wonderfully unique, but that doesn't translate into greatness.

I found the story intriguing, but never as powerful as it could have been. Some of this might have to do with shifting loyalties to the two main characters- the movie feels like it WANTS to be about Emilia Perez, but we spend so much more time and perspective with Rita. It could obviously be both their film, but the feeling I get is that the script wasn't clear. We're left in a bit of a No Man's Land, never fully in either of their corners. As such, there's distance between us and the characters. Did I feel any depth of emotion to the story? Not really. It's a human drama, yes, but it feels too melodramatic at times.

I do believe that Saldana and Gascon absolutely deserve to be pushed for year-end awards. I'll tackle Saldana first, since she's really the lead. She connects best with the audience, we see a total transformation of her character as the film progresses- and, Saldana is experienced enough and talented enough to hit an absolute home run with this performance. Her dramatic chops, the singing, the dancing- I've never quite seen her like this. Saldana's performance is raw and filled with energy. It's one of the best performances I've seen her give, and the film asks so much of her. She's the highlight of the film, in my mind. Gascon deserves immense praise, too. I'd imagine this couldn't have been an easy role for her- to appear in the beginning film as a man, and then to make the transition on screen must have felt very personal. Gascon isn't as talented an actress as Saldana- not even close- but, she gives a powerful performance that you can't ignore. Gascon takes up space on screen, drawing our eyes to her. The range that she needed to show here is impressive and she delivers it all authentically. The combination of Saldana and Gascon's performances is undoubtedly the top reason to see this film.

I thought Selena Gomez was significantly less effective. I wouldn't say she is bad, but she's clearly the least talented actress from the main three. Her skill and ability is so far beneath Saldana that it becomes glaring as the film progresses. Gomez puts so much energy into the role- you can tell she tried her absolute best. The problem is that she's just not that talented. I'm quite frankly surprised that she received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. I didn't see it. Gomez isn't bad, but she feels like a liability. I did like seeing Edgar Ramirez here, but he's so limited in his time and effectiveness on screen.

The musical numbers are definitely impressive- they don't take the expected route. The songs are well-written, the music is strong, and those scenes hold our attention much more than I expected them to. With so much drama, and then suspense and thrills, you'd think that the music would feel clunky, disjointed. Audiard does a fantastic job of integrating them into the larger story, where they feel like they amplify the film, verses hurt it. One of the least effective parts of the film is a long stretch of drama before they get to the conclusion, when I missed the musical numbers.

I definitely want to be clear that Emilia Perez is a good film- it's original, innovative, and ambitious. I liked the movie and I think Audiard, Saldana, and Gascon deserve great praise for what they delivered. I just don't think the film is great by any stretch of the imagination. It's stylistically wonderful, but it doesn't go to the depths of emotion as well as it should have. It's too bipolar in its storytelling between the two main characters and that lack of focus hurts the film. I'm less concerned with the controversy, although much of it may be warranted. Without being better informed, it's hard to know how to weigh in. Clearly, most critics weren't turned off by it. For me, the film is good, but vastly overrated. Just because it's different and tackles the kind of subjects and themes that we need more of on screen, doesn't mean it automatically deserves immense praise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Anora, Dispatches From Elsewhere (TV), Roma