Emilia Pérez
2024
***½
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, Édgar Ramírez, Adriana Paz, Enrique Arce, Juan Minujín, Mauricio Barrientos, Marcelo Alonso, Waldo Facco
A Mexican lawyer is approached by a drug cartel leader who wants to secretly undergo gender reassignment surgery and begin a new life as Emilia Pérez. Years later, Emilia wants to reconnect with her family, while her violent past threatens to unravel her new identity. Jacques Audiard's musical melodrama wooed the critics but was detested by the general public, who resented the film's cultural stereotyping, trans representation, and casting choices, among other things. I am willing to overlook these shortcomings because Audiard's film is totally unique and, for the most part, captivating. The story is loosely based on Boris Razon's 2018 novel Écoute, and it intertwines crime drama with musical elements, dealing with identity and redemption. Karla Sofía Gascón and the Academy Award–winning Zoe Saldana give great performances, while Selena Gomez is less convincing. Some of the songs by Clément Ducol and Camille Dalmais are powerful. El mal won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
