IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched in the cinema (183rd visit in 2024)
Mexican drug lords are not necessarily known for taking an in-depth look at their own identity - and certainly not for undergoing a GAS. It therefore takes a certain amount of "suspension of disbelief" on the part of the audience to get involved with "Emilia Pérez". This also applies to numerous other plot points in this film. The easiest way to do this is probably to see it as a kind of modern fairy tale, because as we all know, things happen in fairy tales that are, well, not exactly realistic.
The princess in this fairy tale is the title character Emilia Pérez, who ventures into a new life after her criminal past and finds her true fulfillment in the process. Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón gives an impressive performance in this double role - both as a man before and as a woman after her sex change. She is flanked by two other very good actresses: a tough yet human Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro, from whose point of view the story is told; and Selena Gomez as the slightly vulgar but also vulnerable wife of Manitas del Monte.
If you understand the film as a fairy tale, the musical numbers, which incidentally were penned by French singer Camille, also seem quite coherent. Sometimes aggressive and jagged, sometimes calm, the trio of leading actresses dance and sing their way through gang wars, doctors' meetings and gala dinners. They seem a bit like operatic arias and, although they stretch the film to a length of over two hours, they also give it an unmistakable character.
In terms of content, the film is most comparable to Xavier Dolan's drama "Laurence Anyways", which also dealt with gender reassignment. The emotional intensity that characterized Dolan's work is missing in "Emilia Pérez", partly because the staging as a musical creates a kind of emotional cushion for the audience. However, in his second film not shot in his native French after "Sisters Brothers", Jacques Audiard combines elements that shouldn't really go together. Once again, the French director proves his versatility. Whether sex drama, prison thriller or outsider romance: wherever his name is on it, there is quality inside. Even if, as here, the mix takes a little getting used to.
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