Certificate: TBC

Running Time: 132 mins

UK Distributor: Netflix

UK Release Date: 13 November 2024

REVIEWED AT TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024

WHO’S IN EMILIA PÉREZ?

Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, Édgar Ramírez, James Gerard, Shiraz Tzarfati, Eduardo Aladro, Yohan Levy, Daniel Velasco-Acosta

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Jacques Audiard (director, writer, producer), Pascal Caucheteux, Valérie Schermann and Anthony Vaccarello (producers), Camille and Clément Ducol (composers), Paul Guilhaume (cinematographer), Juliette Welfling (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A Mexican cartel boss (Gascón) enlists a lawyer (Saldaña) for an unusual request…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON EMILIA PÉREZ?

In an era where even the trailers for movie musicals seem to be utterly ashamed by the fact that they’re musicals, Emilia Pérez stands out like a shining star in the dark sky. Jacques Audiard’s film, an original piece that the French writer-director first conceived as an opera before transforming it into a screenplay, is so deeply rooted in musical expression that it is nigh on impossible to imagine a version without it. This is one movie musical that proudly wears its identity as a singing-and-dancing spectacle all over itself, and flatly refuses to compromise its flashily energetic nature.

But even if one were to remove its musical elements, Emilia Pérez still succeeds as a fascinatingly realised piece of cinematic storytelling that is gripping and, indeed, operatic. Its compelling plot and a triad of fascinating central characters each carry a substantial amount of emotional weight, in addition to staggering complexities which make everything and everyone far more interesting than they may appear to be on the surface. There is clearly a lot of love poured into this film, and thankfully it shows in nearly every frame.

Set primarily in Mexico, we follow disgruntled lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldaña) who one day receives an offer from feared cartel kingpin Manitas Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón) to come and work for him. His goal, to Rita’s surprise, is to find an international gender reassignment clinic that can transform him into the woman he has always felt himself to be, and in exchange for her services – which also includes relocating his young wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and their young children to Switzerland, where they’ll be safe from retribution – she will be handsomely rewarded. Some years after the fact, Rita once more encounters her former boss, now living happily as the titular Emilia Pérez, who seeks to atone for her past crimes by starting an organisation dedicated to helping reunite families with their missing brethren. However, it is when safe passage is arranged for Jessi and her children, now unknowingly living under the same roof as their former husband and father respectively, that Emilia’s past and present threaten to disrupt her ultimate future.

As a musical, the film has a unique energy that powers its lavish song-and-dance numbers, as written by acclaimed French songwriter Camille. The songs themselves carry an operatic quality, with many of them being delivered via a euphoric mix of sharp and surreal choreography, set to some striking cinematography and editing by Paul Guilhaume and Juliette Welfling respectively, and poetic lyrics that often cut to the core of a character’s feelings in the moment, whether they’re ones of doubt, regret, fear, uncertainty and beyond. Though not always carrying a hummable tune, the passion with which these songs are performed, whether it’s by one of the core leads or by numerous members of the Greek chorus ensemble, is such that you feel each and every note as much as the performers themselves do.

The musical elements, though, make up only a fraction of the film’s ultimate intrigue. Taking greater prominence is the compelling storyline, to which Audiard – marking his first solo writing credit for a film he also directed – applies a steady and comfortable pace that allows certain plot elements enough breathing space to feel as fleshed out as it needs to be. The central concept is an immediate hook, and Audiard constantly finds ways to have it go even further, to places that are deeply human in spirit while avoiding easy melodrama or lionising certain characters to an overwhelming extent. At times, the film can feel like it’s juggling too many tones at once, and as it begins to wrap up there is a real danger of the film completely spiralling out of control, but the filmmaker holds it all together with a compassionate approach to his craft that has you exactly where it wants you to be from an emotional standpoint, without coming across as too manipulative or phoney in its execution.

Then, there is the central trio of women who give some of the year’s most layered performances. Both Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez deliver some of their best-ever work as the respective lawyer slowly seduced by power and influence under the guise of seemingly doing the right thing for once in her dead-end career, and the mobster’s wife that is desperately trying to fill her broken heart with empty relationships and futile attempts to relive her more youthful days. But the film is called Emilia Pérez for a reason. When we first meet Karla Sofía Gascón as Manitas, there is something instantly tragic about this individual where you can tell, just from the monotonous tone of voice alone, that a deeply sad person exists underneath the intimidating tattoos and masculine build. It is, of course, when she is finally free to live as Emilia that a completely different person takes over, and Gascón is simply tremendous at treading the lines of both her former and current selves while retaining a great deal of sympathy as she explores her humanity in the wake of her life-changing procedure.

Like a lot of musicals, Emilia Pérez isn’t going to be for everyone. It has an often-overwhelming visual style that, while beautiful to look at, tends to be a lot to handle all at once, kind of like a much more streamlined Baz Luhrmann film. But when it gets into full swing, and as you’re completely engrossed in the captivating combination of story and characters, it becomes a musical that might just possibly leave you with a formidable spring in your step.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Emilia Pérez is a fascinating original musical that works not just as a unique song-and-dance spectacle, but also as a compelling drama with formidable writing and direction by Jacques Audiard, and a triad of tremendous central performances by Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and especially Karla Sofía Gascón, though its overwhelming style might not immediately make it an accessible hit.

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