Review: “Emilia Pérez,” the Worst Movie Ever, Gets 13 Oscar Nominations
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Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” is the most interesting movie I’ve seen this year, but not in a good way. Its 132 minutes are like a showy disaster, full of bad ideas that are badly done.
It’s just the kind of movie that Hollywood people think is visionary, which is why it won at the Golden Globes and got 13 Oscar nominations.
Here’s a breakdown of the movie
Setting: Modern-day Mexico.
Main Character:
- Karla Sofía Gascón plays Emilia Pérez, initially known as Manitas Del Monte, a feared drug lord.
Plot Summary:
- Beginning (First 40 minutes):
- Emilia, as Manitas, has taken control of her territory by eliminating rivals and bribing politicians.
- Despite her tough exterior, she secretly desires to transition to a woman.
- Lawyer Rita Mora Castro (played by Zoe Saldaña) helps her plan a series of gender-affirming surgeries.
- They fake Manitas’ death and move his wife (played by Selena Gomez) and children to Switzerland in secrecy.
- Remainder of the Film:
- Emilia attempts to reconnect with her children, who return from Switzerland and are led to believe she is a distant cousin of their father.
- She works on personal redemption, falling in love and starting a nonprofit.
- Her nonprofit aims to find the remains of people who disappeared due to drug cartels.
- Emilia becomes a national hero through her efforts.
Themes: Identity, redemption, family reconnection, and heroism against the backdrop of crime and societal issues.
This is where Emilia Perez Gets Annoying
If you think this movie sounds both ridiculous and possibly offensive, you’re right. People in Mexico have heavily criticized the film for showing their country as full of violence and outdated ideas.
They also noted that the director, Jacques Audiard, didn’t show any real Mexican culture. None of the main actors were born in Mexico (Selena Gomez is a third-generation Mexican American and had to learn Spanish for her role), and almost none of the movie was filmed in Mexico.
Even though the director visited Mexico several times to find locations, he ended up filming most of it on sets in Paris. He said it was hard to film musical scenes on location, but it also seems like the real Mexico didn’t fit the “Mexico” he wanted to show.
The LGBTQ+ community has also spoken out against how the movie portrays a trans woman, calling it outdated and insensitive. GLAAD criticized the movie for not treating the subject well.
Writer Harron Walker, in an article for The Cut, made fun of the movie’s unrealistic portrayal of medical transition. Walker mentioned that the movie could have been funny and relevant if it had been about a wealthy trans woman trying to fix her past mistakes by starting a charity.
Instead, Audiard’s movie missed the chance to be satirical and just became more serious as it went on.
If “Emilia Pérez” were just terrible in terms of its content, that would be bad enough. But what really makes the film a standout in cinematic failure is its equally poor form.
The film tries so hard to be astonishing and unique—promising something you’ve never seen before—that many people have called it “genre-defying,” a term even used in the movie’s Netflix description.
However, this isn’t accurate. “Emilia Pérez” is definitely a musical, but it’s not innovative or original at all.