Emilia Pérez review: ‘Messy crime musical loses all nuance when it comes to trans identity’

Emilia Pérez is all about transformation; crossing the lines of the law, morality, gender and existence in the hope of survival. 

The Spanish-language musical crime comedy is a colourful, entertaining mess from writer-director Jacques Audiard who stuffs an array of action-packed song and dance numbers into a film that isn’t quite sure of its footing. 

Emilia Pérez follows gutsy lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldaña), who is married to her work and the brains behind her firm’s continuous courtroom wins. After a particularly hard-fought case, she receives an anonymous call about a mysterious meeting and the promise that she’ll be rich beyond her wildest dreams if she chooses to accept.

Cut to Rita being abducted and taken to a second location (always a bad sign) to meet fearsome Mexican cartel leader Juan ‘Manitas’ Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón). The hard nut has one request for her: “I want to be a woman.”

Rita is tasked with faking the death of the face-tattooed criminal so Manitas can start a new life as Emilia Pérez, who turns heads for completely different reasons.

Then begins the thumping intensity of Audiard’s stylistic musical odyssey, where an eyebrow-raising and rather insensitive musical number about a vaginoplasty procedure is followed up by a doctor’s office ballad explaining the societal pressure on trans folks.

These theatrics flourish when they’re embraced but not overdone. Emilia Pérez’s diamond sees Saldaña in a stunning red velvet suit, prancing around a banquet hall, gyrating on tables and guests as she demands they pay up. Meanwhile, Perez addresses the charity dinner, singing her speech over a drum-heavy rock track. It’s one of the film’s more extravagant, well-composed moments.

Elsewhere, these highly choreographed ensemble numbers do their best to distract from the film’s otherwise scrappy premise.

Audiard’s audacious ambition spirals into misguided directions as Emilia seeks personal redemption. She creates an NGO charity to use her ex-crime connections to locate missing people. Then, the film turns its attention to Emilia’s lesbian romance, which is flung aside for what becomes a full-on action movie soundtracked to the ricocheting of gunfire.

There’s also Selena Gomez, whose performance can’t quite keep up with Saldaña and Gascón. She plays the cartel leader’s wife, who knows nothing of Emilia’s transition despite her being the mother of their two young boys. Jessi’s character is best summarised as a good singer taking the mic at karaoke; Audiard’s camera adores her, yet she’s out of place.

In trying to explore the life of the titular character, Emilia Pérez loses all nuance when it comes to trans identity and exploring the facets of trans womanhood.

From gangster to a peace seeker in satin blouses, Gascón may be phenomenal but not even her performance can lift the film from the hole of incoherence it’s dug for itself. To its credit, Emilia Pérez is unique, yet the embrace of song, dance and dramatics still lacks any semblance of depth beyond camp aesthetics and the reactionary treatment of a trans character.

Emilia Pérez was screened at the London Film Festival and is out in UK cinemas on 25 October and in US and Canadian cinemas on 1 November. Emilia Pérez is then streaming on Netflix from 13 November.

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