Following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and its female ensemble (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez) won the Best Actress award, there was considerable hype surrounding the TIFF presence of Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language, crime thriller-cum-musical that was recently crowned the runner-up in the People’s Choice Award category at the festival.
And whether or not Jacques Audiard‘s bold film lands with you or not, the hype is justified.
A pop opera of chaos that blends such styles as rock, R&B and reggaeton, the Emilia Pérez of the title is the true female identity of feared cartel boss Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Gascón), who hires Mexico City defense lawyer Rita Moro Castro (Saldaña, arguably the ensemble’s standout) to help him disappear and transition into the woman he truly believes he was born to be. Rita is paid handsomely to assist initially, and after 5 years of believed freedom, Emilia reemerges to ask for one final favour, one that involves “his” ex-wife, Jessi (Gomez).
The world Audiard has created here is a blend of crime familiarity and executed audacity. And though the brutality of the cartel underworld and its dirty, morally bankrupt mentality is adhered to, Emilia Pérez is a true original in how it presents its narco thriller personality; the musical aspect is similarly more non-traditional, as the songs forego the usual structure of a pop song and are so often musical iterations of the characters’ conversations.
And it’s with such a structure that, particularly, Saldaña and Gascón materialise as the film’s strongest assets. Saldaña inhabits what it is to be a performer, with an emotionally charged turn as a professional woman wanting to straddle the line of morality and help Juan be the woman he knows he is. As well, her vocals are lush in their gorgeous tone, and her song selections often require full-bodied performances, with their dancing and rapping conditions. As emotional as Saldaña’s performance is though, Gascón owns the film’s heart as Emilia, with the actress effortless in how she presents the shades of her masculinity and femininity. Gomez also shines, though her role is more limited, at least initially. Once Emilia claims to be Juan’s sister in a bid to keep Jessi and their children close, Gomez starts to seep through as a truly damaged, torn woman. One who mourns the loss of her husband, but won’t hide the carnal desires she requires.
Emilia Pérez is certainly going to divide audiences with its unflinching disposition, but in such a climate where original films feel as if they are fighting to be seen, something like this feels necessary and all the more revelatory, and not just because an openly trans actress is at its helm. Audiard’s daring vision eclipses that, wearing its identity proudly on its sleeve and reveling in its refusal to compromise any of its dazzling vision.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Emilia Pérez screened as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which ran between September 5th and 15th, 2024. For more information about the festival, head to the official site here.
Emilia Pérez is screening in Australian theatres from January 16th, 2025.
