Where to even begin with Emilia Pérez? What a bizarre movie. Frankly, it’s a shame that so much of its failings and the discourse surrounding this movie is about how it’s offensive. Because obviously it is. And that is a justified focus of this movie’s failings. If it wasn’t for those elements, the movie would still be awful. But awful in quite a fascinating way. Truly, what was director Jacques Audiard thinking? Dude wanted to stretch himself creatively, I guess. But in stretching himself, all that happened was he pulled every single creative muscle he had.
Rita is a capable lawyer working in Mexico whose career advances are stymied by the fact that she is black. One day, Rita receives a mysterious phone call from a prospective client. This client is a powerful cartel leader, causing secrecy and threats to be the basis of how they communicate. What this cartel leader wants from Rita is to schedule her gender transition and faked death so she can begin her new life. Four years later, Rita and her client meet again. Now living as Emilia Pérez, Emilia tries to reunite with her children and former wife, who are under the assumption that their father and husband have perished.
Emilia Pérez is all over the place. Every once in a while, one of those places were somewhere I was interested in visiting. The early days of Emilia and Rita reconnecting and Emilia finding a way back into her kids’ lives is interesting and I though okay, maybe the second half of this movie is why the thing got good reviews. Nope! This breakneck, melodramatic plot keeps advancing in absurd, unfocused ways until we end up at a place of revenge kidnapping, a shoot-out and a tearful reveal of identity to Selena Gomez.
There seems to be inspiration from telenovelas in Emilia Perez. What with the film’s dramatic and interpersonal story of many twists, turns and dramatic moments. But this is a film! A film by a French director, no less. I think Emilia Pérez was trying to go for “elevated” telenovela. Which just comes across as twice as smug and half as fun. It’s frankly wild that this movie is getting so much awards attention. This is a fucking soap opera and should be treated as such.
It’s also a musical, of course. This is one of the many bold but ultimately failed choices that Audiard makes. Not a single song is remotely catchy. The songs also happen at an unusual frequency where you constantly forget it’s a musical until the next song that’s categorically allergic to serving begins. Then you just listen to an actor who is more actor than singer do that talk-singing thing as a mediocre and far too sterile musical number erupts around them. I am particularly let down with the musical number about trans affirmative surgeries. I was so hoping such a song would be insane and over the top. And it’s kind of weird, but as allergic to serving as any of the rest of the numbers. Go on, repeat men into women and women into men one more time. That’ll really move the dial on trans representation.
There are few representations of sapphic trans women. Including one of them with its protagonist is one of the few things I applaud Emilia Pérez for. With everything else about this movie, I would’ve expected that Emilia’s story would’ve included that she transitions to date men. But she doesn’t. After her transition, Emilia has a little romantic subplot with a woman named Epifania, who is played by the film’s lone Mexican actress. They even get a song about their romance. And you guessed it, the lesbian love song is as lame as the rest of the musical numbers. If you want a sapphic song from an Oscar-nominated movie, probably just check out the I Loathe You song from Wicked. It might not be canonically queer, but at least the song is catchy.
Jacques Audiard took a series of big swings with Emilia Pérez. And he struck out on almost all of them. As a film about Mexican people and trans people, the film is reductive or straight-up incorrect to the point where it’s offensive. And the creative choice to make this movie a musical is also an absurd choice that does not remotely pay off. This is sort of a fascinating film in its audacity. But all of the culture wars, discourse and controversy surrounding the project sap even that element of any potential joy. I love it when a film is bad in a weird way. And that’s Emilia Pérez. Sort of. But there’s so much else going on with this movie that’s bad in a very regular way (issues of representation) that I feel no enjoyment of Emilia Perez in all of its weird failure.
Overall rating: 4.5/10
Other WLW films in similar genres
Sapphic trans women