With 26 wins and 33 nominations, Emilia Pérez has been basking in award glory. The musical crime comedy written and directed by Jacques Audiard premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2024, and then hit Netflix on Nov. 1. The musical pieces are primarily in Spanish but feature English as well, and the film stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofia Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.
The film begins with Rita Castro (played by Zoe Saldaña) an under-appreciated and overworked lawyer working in Mexico on criminal cases, who has been contacted by Mexican drug lord Manitas Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón) for a job.
After putting a bag over Rita’s head and taking her to an unmarked location, Manitas asks Rita to help him become a woman. Rita is to find the surgeon and help Manitas fake his own death in Mexico and find a new home for his kids and wife. His family will remain under the impression that Manitas is dead. After a successful surgery, the film announces that four years have passed. Rita is living a good life in London with the money Manitas, now Emilia Pérez, paid her. But Emilia is back and needs Rita once more, as she wants to be back in her children’s lives.
While the Cannes Film Festival is right to applaud Emilia Pérez, the musical takes on a lot and can only return so much. In attempting to discuss Emilia’s identity, missing individuals in Mexico, and the Cartels’ influence on the Mexican government, no overarching topic is ever fleshed out. At Cannes, the 2024 Best Actress Award was given to the four main female leads, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz. Their performances were brilliant, most importantly Saldaña’s and Gascón’s, but their characters’ potential never felt fully realized. Even Emilia Pérez does not feel like the main character of the story. I’m struck by what was meant to be a discussion of identity, of transitioning from male to female, becoming quickly overlooked by commentary on the government. Cannes also awarded the musical the Jury Prize which intends to award a film that embodies inquiry, but again, Emilia Pérez never gives breathing room to a question mark. There seems to be a trend in the musical: each time a topic is concluding and there hasn’t been much substance to it, a song begins. The songs are intended to capture the complexity of the moments and let the lyrics speak for themselves. However, this method failed to properly address the film’s many important topics.
Despite the songs and dances not being enough to address the film’s messages, they are exactly what saves the film and makes it so loveable. They were dramatic and clear discussions, and the only times the film even tried to give patience to the important topics. The numbers were vignettes of their own. The abnormal dances caught me off guard and simultaneously captured me. I agree with the decision for composers Camille and Clément Ducol to receive Best Composer at Cannes for the Soundtrack Award. “Mi Camino” sung by Selena Gomez is one of the most beautiful songs in the musical and encapsulates the theme of loving oneself as they are. “El Mal” is the next strongest. Sung and performed by Zoe Saldaña, “El Mal” discusses the Cartels’ power and influence over the Mexican government. It’s an incredible performance that alludes to the Cartels being in bed literally and figuratively with political leaders. And finally, the one song I don’t see getting enough attention in reviews is “Deseo.” Sung by Karla Sofía Gascón in the form of Manitas, “Deseo” gives depth to the characters Manitas Del Monte and Emilia Pérez. It’s the first time we feel close to Manitas’ desire to become a woman; while the musical’s attention sometimes drifts away from Emilia, “Deseo” does its part to remind us of her story.
As expected from desires and secrets, the film spirals toward the end into inevitable repercussions. We are left with the consequences of Emilia’s actions, and their effects on the decisions of her previous wife, Jessica (Selena Gomez) about letting Emilia back into the lives of their children. I wish the film had gone more in-depth with one topic rather than attempting to do it all, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. The songs and performances in the fast-paced film were beautiful moments of pause and stories themselves. To watch Emilia Pérez is to watch the story of many women which all comes down to wanting to love oneself as they are, who they feel they are, or who they want to be.
Sophia Romanov Imber is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at [email protected].