"Emilia Pérez" Movie Review

“Emilia Pérez” was released on Netflix this November by director Jacques Audiard. The majority of the film is spoken in Spanish with some English scattered throughout.

The film follows Rita Mora Castro, a Mexican lawyer offered a unique job to help a cartel boss fake their death and transition into a woman, fulfilling a lifelong desire.

Thanks to Castro's assistance, the former cartel leader can start a new life under a new name, Emilia Pérez.

Pérez however begins to miss aspects of her former life, specifically her children who were under the impression that their father had died.

Pérez gets Rita to get her children and her ex-wife to move in with Pérez, with them under the impression that Pérez is a distinct cousin of their father/husband.

The film is filled with strong performances. Karla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez all give great performances that are the absolute highlight of the film.

Karla Sofia Gasco is the stand-out actress in the film. While she is lesser known than the other two, her performance was incredible and could potentially earn her an Oscar consideration.

She is able to perfectly convey the nuances of her character and is very convincing during emotional scenes.

Selena Gomez is able to display a side of her that has not been shown before. She is able to balance the emotional and crazy aspects of her character which lead to possibly the best performance of Gomez’s career.

While she does not have a great deal of screen time, she makes the absolute most of every second she has on screen.

Zoe Saldana’s performance anchors the film. She is the character we follow from the beginning to the end.

Saldana’s character goes through about every emotion there is throughout this film and she conveys each one of them greatly.

The lowlight of the film comes with the inclusion of musical numbers. They feel out of place with what is going on and feel like more of a distraction than necessary aspects of the story.

Songs within movie musicals should feel natural when they come about, but many times when they come around in this film, it breaks the immersion.

These musical scenes, especially the ones with over-the-top choreography, feel very out of place with the rest of the film.

The only point that songs work within the movie is during emotional scenes. This is due to these scenes being much more grounded in reality and the quiet tone fits much more within this film.

It seemed like an odd choice to make this film a musical, as the time spent on the songs could have been used to better develop the characters and the films.

The songs usually just provide confusion when the time they take up could have been used to tidy up the plot and provide clarity.

Overall, the film is greatly enhanced through the wonderful acting performances throughout.

Unfortunately, the film is dragged down by the choice to make the film a musical, a decision that does nothing but take away from the immersion within the film.

Ignoring the musical numbers, this film includes great and developed characters who are portrayed by actors who give some of the best acting performances of the year.

Rating: 3/5

Nikolai Wagner is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email njw5648@psu.edu.