Plot
Emilia Pérez follows four extraordinary women in Mexico, each in search of their own happiness
Cartel leader Emilia hires Rita, an underrated lawyer, to help her fake her death so she can finally live authentically as herself. Karla Sofía Gascón talks about the two years of preparation that went into this demanding role in Jacques Audiard’s film, and the two extremes of her own personality that she had to portray as Emilia and Manitas. Jacques Audiard said he was inspired for the idea for the musical by a chapter in the novel about a drug lord who yearns to change his identity. The French title card misspells the Indian city as “Dehli.” Featured in Latino Slant: La Bamba Remake, Tarantino Has a BIG, SPICY Mouth Jenna & Selena Shocks!
El Alegato Written by Camille (as C
(2024). Dalmais), Clément Ducol and Jacques Audiard Starring Zoe Saldana. A very enjoyable film, with two demanding leads and two supporting roles that require excellent actors. The first two are played by Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofia Gascón, the other two by Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.
They deserved it
This quartet shared the Best Actress award at Cannes 2024. Saldaña is a special find. Of writer-director Jacques Audiard’s previous films, I’ve seen four (The Beat that My Heart Skipped, A Prophet, Rust and Bone and The Sisters Brothers), each memorable in their own different ways. None of them prepared me for this, so kudos to him for not getting stuck in the genre rut.
Otherwise, the songs drag the film down
Emilia Pérez talks a lot and sings a lot. When the singing is combined with Damien Jalet’s hard-hitting choreography, the effect is exhilarating. They’re light on musical theater, they don’t go deep, so they don’t live up to the dramatic demands placed on them. They are at their best in rap-oriented songs, where the beat is the most important element.
It’s an unusually bleak vision to present in a musical
Emilie Pérez’s moral seems to be that we can never free ourselves from the past, change who we are or what we want.