The more I think about Emilia Perez, the more frustrated I become with the film. On one hand I deeply respect the film’s ambition. As someone who is not a fan of movie musicals, I respect the direction of making the film a crime musical instead of a regular crime drama. Director Jacques Audiard threw some concepts at the wall to see if it will stick, to which I respect him for it. But on the other hand, I think this film is cowardly.
The film is cowardly on how it handles its titular character, Emilia Perez (Karla Sofia Gascon), a drug cartel boss turned trans-women philanthropist. With this information, you know that she will be a controversial and morally complex character. And instead of diving into the complexities and controversies of this character, Emilia Perez presents something much worse. A one-noted exploration of trans-identity and redemption.
We are introduced to Emilia Perez through the eyes of Rita Castro (Zoe Saldana) , a criminal lawyer who is kidnapped by Perez in the middle of the night. Perez wants Castro to help her transition from a man to a woman and to set up a new life for her, away from the drug cartel and her family. With this information in mind, you think the film will explore the long, arduous journey of transitioning. However, the film chooses to boil it down to Castro traveling around the world singing and dancing about surgeries and hormone therapy and by the next scene Emilia is now a woman. That’s it, that is the trans experience that this film chooses to explore. Nothing about discovering your identity with your new body or about coping with new insecurities because of the transition. These essential themes about the trans experiences are nowhere to be found in Emilia Perez. And the cowardice doesn’t stop there.
When Emilia finally transitions, her hands are entirely washed clean of all wrongdoing that she did as a man and as a cartel boss. Her character is now treated like a saint as she can do no wrong, even though she is still doing some pretty questionable things. For example, she creates a charity to help find people who were murdered by the cartels. However, she doesn’t create this charity out of her own guilty conscience as she and her cartel undoubtedly put hundreds if not thousands into the ground. She does it because someone gave her a missing person poster. She did not start this charity to repent for the sins of her past and to help her guilty conscience, she does it because it makes her feel good about herself. Does the film call her out for her selfishness? No. Does the film call her out for using her cartel money and other cartel money to start and fund the charity? No. Does the film call her out for emotionally abusing her ex-wife (Selena Gomez) and children by posing as their aunt instead of admitting she is their dead father? No.
Emilia Perez is by all means, an awful person. I understand this film is about redemption but it doesn’t take anytime to explore it. The moment that Emilia transitions, the film treats acts like she is cleansed of her sins because she is now a woman. She is never dragged through the mud and forced to face the consequences for the sins of her past. What is the point of redemption if they never face any consequences for their actions? The film is deathly afraid of showing a trans character as “morally complex”. The trans community, like everyone on this planet, is deeply human, capable of greatness and destruction. So let’s start showing that community as human instead of goody two-shoes who can do no wrong.
As for the rest of the film, I think it is fine. Jacques Audiard will have you on the edge of your seat with his maximalist direction. From the cinematography to the dance choreography during the musical numbers, Audiard is using every ounce of direction he can to immerse you in this musical experience. The musical numbers were fine as the direction was doing the heavy lifting to elevate these musical numbers. The performances from Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Selena Gomez were all great and they tried their hardest to elevate the script. However, all of their performances sadly feel one noted as their characters were not given the desperate moral ambiguity and nuance that the film desperately needed.
Overall, I was enjoying myself while I was watching Emilia Perez. I respect its ambition and for it trying something different. However, the more I think about the film, the less I like it. It is a cowardly exploration of trans identity and redemption. It is terrified to explore its own subject matter because it is afraid of offending someone. Emilia Perez is not as progressive as it thinks it is.
My Rating: C
Leave a Reply