Emilia Pérez (2024) is directed by Jacques Audiard and stars Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Invanir, Eduardo Aladro, and Emiliano Hasan. The film follows Rita Moro Castro (Saldana), an underappreciated lawyer who’s asked by Manitias Del Monte (Gascon), a powerful crime lord, to help fake his death so he can transition to a female and start a new life as Emilia Perez. Four years later, Emilia once again requests Rita’s help – this time to help reconnect her with the family she left behind years ago. Under the guise of being a distant relative, Emilia invites her family to come and live with her. Unable to reveal her true identity, Emilia learns that having two lives is not at all what she expected. With the help of Rita, she sets out to make amends for her past life but quickly realizes it may still come back to haunt her. 

One of the reasons the movie works is that the three central performances feel completely committed to its tonally odd crime-musical approach. Saldana is well-cast as this kind of lawyer character. However, I was particularly impressed that she isn’t written as the typical goody two shoes, “the law never fails,” lawyer archetype. It’s a simple change, but it’s nice to see a character in this position just say “My employers don’t appreciate me and don’t pay enough. Screw it. Let’s break the law.” 

Gomez gives a fun performance as Del Monte’s estranged wife who thinks he has been dead for 4+ years. Her intense personality feels truly alive, but the best part is her musical numbers. Although she leads some of the weaker songs, she’s also the most skilled dancer. She may never be an Oscar-worthy actress (until proven otherwise), but when used in musicals, she’s hard to beat.

The best performance of the three, however, is Karla Sofia Gascon as Manitas Del Monte and the titular Emila Perez. She’s completely authentic as both characters and is the kind of performer who can say more with her eyes than most can say with their mouths. It’s a shame, then, that most of the conversation around her performance (and the rest of the movie for that matter) will most likely be an unhealthy one. I, for one, simply appreciate that the movie casts a transgender person as a transgender character. The actor has lived as both genders so that naturally gives more authenticity to the performance. It’s easier to act it if you’ve lived it and Gascon’s performance is proof.

The musical numbers range from generic to top-tier, but for the most part, I have to say they won me over. I’m not one who’s particularly versed in Spanish music, so the first song or two required a transition for my English ears. After that, I found myself tapping my foot far more often than I was expecting. On the more negative side of things, some of the songs will be a tad gimmicky for certain tastes. For example, there’s something that feels a little too silly about a song comprised exclusively of clinical sex-change terms. It is palatable, however, because it fits nicely within the context of the story at hand and ends before it overstays its welcome.

The film features a fantastic original premise, and excluding a somewhat disappointing climax, feels like it takes full advantage of it. That being said, it can sometimes be too needlessly on the nose with its messaging. It’s as if it thinks the viewer won’t catch the inherent themes of the subject matter at hand, so it keeps telling them again and again and again. Thankfully, the script never tells us how we should feel about each character individually. Their motivations and desires are kept vague, but never in a way that stops us from understanding who they are. In other words, they’re complicated in the way real people are. They’re capable of horrible things, but that doesn’t mean they won’t make the right decisions the next time around. Because we’re not sure what the characters will do, the story feels unpredictable.

Overall, this is one of the better musicals this year but is sure to be forgotten in the wake of Wicked (2024). I don’t love the genre, but this was mostly a pleasant experience. That being said, its appeal is no doubt extremely niche. It’s never a dull experience, but it does often feel choppy in terms of tonal balance. I wouldn’t recommend this to many people, but those who love musicals or transgender subject matter will find it to be two hours well spent. B-