The story of the all-powerful leader of a Mexican drugs cartel who desperately wants gender reassignment surgery, the lawyer who makes it happen, and the years that follow, with their turbulence, passion, and redemption. Tailor-made for a musical, right? Yes, if you happen to be director Jacques Audiard. The result is Emilia Perez, one of the most extraordinary films of the year. Brace yourself.
Audiard has said his inspiration came from Boris Razon’s novel Ecoute, which included a transgender drug dealer who wanted surgery. Feeling that the character wasn’t developed any further, he decided to start his story there, creating the ruthless leader of a cartel who wants to live as her authentic self. She hires a lawyer (Zoe Saldana) to find the right surgeon for the job, fakes her death, and arranges for her wife (Selena Gomez) and children to live a new life away from Mexico. But, as the years pass, she longs to be reunited with her children and find some form of atonement for all the murder and devastation that blighted her life. Her past and present are on a collision course.
It’s a musical production right from the start, with large-scale numbers and smaller songs that are more like speech set to music. In truth, they don’t always work – there are times when the transition from dialogue to lyrics feels awkward – but when they do, the results are stunning. Some of the big numbers are spectacularly orchestrated and choreographed, their colour and energy bursting off the screen and the film’s final number is a rousing anthem that sticks in the mind for hours afterwards. The more intimate songs demand much of their performers, Saldana in particular, allowing them to break away from their more familiar roles and show us a whole new side to their talents. There are times when you simply don’t have any breath left.
But that’s just one side of a multi-faceted film. At its heart, Emilia Perez is an epic, a gangster saga that places a deeply personal story with a small handful of characters on a vast canvas and allows Audiard to show how their actions ripple out into the wider world. It’s built on huge, universal themes: the struggle to live life as your real self and all the courage that requires, redemption through meaningful atonement for the past, the importance of actions over words …. the list goes on. None of them are unfamiliar, but when they’re brought to the screen with such power, commitment, and intensity, the experience is overwhelming and exhausting in the best possible way.
More significantly, though, it’s a ground-breaker, not just for its cast and/or makers, but for cinema in general and in a broader, social context. While Spanish is widely spoken throughout the USA, it’s unusual for a film with a largely Hispanic cast speaking their own language to find itself in the mainstream and attract so much attention. That all started when it was screened at Cannes: the standing ovation was nine minutes long but, more significantly, the Best Actress award was shared between the four leading ladies – Saldana, Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Karla Sofia Gascon, who plays both the title role and that of the drugs baron. It made her the first openly trans actress to win the award. It was a sound decision – the film belongs to their intertwined stories – but one that opened doors as well. And, if the awards buzz already surrounding the film proves to be a correct, more could be pushed ajar next March.
Prepare to be blown away. It may not be flawless, but its sheer audacity and originality make it stand out from the crowd. Emotionally, visually, and narratively captivating, you won’t see anything else like it this year.
★★★★1/2
In UK cinemas from 25 October, on Netflix from 13 November / Karla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, Edgar Ramirez, Adriana Paz / Dirs: Jacques Audiard / Netflix / 15
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