Film Review: EMILIA PÉREZ (2024): Jacques Audiard’s Captivating Drama Offers Terrific Acting Amidst a Bizarre and Intriguing Storyline

Emilia Pérez Review

Emilia Pérez (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Jacques Audiard, written by Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi and Jacques Audiard and starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Ivanir, Eduardo Aladro, Emiliano Hasan and James Gerard.

Filmmaker Jacques Audiard’s ambitious and entertaining new film, Emilia Pérez, is impossible to categorize in certain respects but it does accomplish a lot of things that the latest Joker film failed to in terms of its basic structure. It may feel like comparing apples to oranges at first but Emilia Pérez also uses the concept of being a musical to accomplish its distinct storytelling goals in a unique and fascinating way that will keep the viewer hooked. Like the new Joker film, unfortunately, Emilia Pérez falls apart a bit in its last moments which hold it back from achieving all the things that it could have. The superb performances are what Emilia Perez is all about, though, and the acting is of the highest caliber here, making the film a bona-fide success that takes risks and doesn’t offer easy answers to complex dilemmas that are posed by the movie’s overall premise.

Zoe Saldana is the film’s star. Saldana portrays Rita Mora Castro who practices law in Mexico. She’s part of a legal team that seemingly gets a murder passed off as a suicide. Rita meets Juan Del Monte (the great Karla Sofía Gascón) who is a “major cartel kingpin.” Juan (AKA Manitas) wants to find a way to change in order to escape the circumstances that exist regarding the very dire situation at hand. Rita helps Manitas get surgery which leads to a new identity for this former kingpin- Emilia Pérez; hence the film’s title. Manitas’s death is faked and, in the interim, former wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez has never been better) and their children shift their location to exit the situation and begin a different life themselves.

The movie skips past several years and Emilia and Rita rekindle their bond. The action jumps to Mexico City where Jessi takes the kids to be looked after by Emilia who says she’s a cousin to Manitas. Edgar Ramirez serves as Gustavo Brun with whom Jessi has a very interesting connection and Gustavo is the catalyst for Jessi’s agreeing to the conditions that Rita sets before her.

This film soon focuses on Emilia’s attempts to put together families who have lost people in cartel violence. Adriana Paz, in terrific work, plays Epifanía who meets Rita through this nonprofit work that Emilia is doing with Rita’s help. As Jessi and Gustavo get more intimate, Jessi decides she wants to take the kids away but Emilia is not happy with that idea which further complicates an already delicate situation.

The first hour of Emilia Pérez is excellent. Saldana creates a very distinct characterization against the backdrop of some very creative scenarios that move the plot ahead at full speed with bravery and distinction. Then, the movie gets caught up in its soap opera-like story line. That’s not to say there isn’t more depth here than there is in a soap opera but the film’s third act is overly dramatic and tries to teach lessons about true love, moral obligations to one’s family and recognizing the past as well as the great importance of the family bond. I liked the film a lot but felt that some of the ending scenes may have been tighter and, perhaps, rewritten to meet the quality of the direction which is always solid throughout.

Despite being driven by music, the performances are nothing short of marvelous. The music complements the fine acting instead of overshadowing it. Zoe Saldana has the most difficult role here as the character who has a bond with Emilia and must try to put the pieces back together after making a very difficult choice at the start of the movie. Karla Sofía Gascón has a natural screen presence which enhances the performance here and makes it all the more effective. Selena Gomez chews scenery in one of the most daring supporting turns of the year. Gomez’s Jessi is the catalyst for much of what happens in the film’s concluding scenes and the actress is more than up to the task of holding the viewer’s attention whenever she appears on-screen. Adriana Paz and Edgar Ramirez are also quite formidable in their roles with Paz especially standing out significantly in a cast full of talent.

Karla Sofía Gascón’s work is at the heart of Emilia Pérez and given the potency of the performance, an Oscar nomination is possible. This transforming role is evident that great things are to come for the star and establishes the performer as a true force to be reckoned with. Saldana more than succeeds to the fullest extent opposite the star as the two play off each other like two finely tuned violins. The musical sequences here stand out as character-defining and serve to move the story line along effectively as well.

Emilia Pérez feels like it’s stretching to be profound in its final moments but it didn’t have to try so hard. The beautiful cinematography is sublime but the picture throws in too many plot developments willy-nilly that detract from the quality of the film as a whole. Still, with great performances like the ones in Emilia Pérez, this film is certainly an attention grabber which is deserving of awards consideration for its central stars.

Rating: 7.5/10

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