Emilia Pérez
Written and Directed by Jacques Audiard
Starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez
Rated R
Runtime: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Now streaming on Netflix

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

There’s no denying that Emilia Pérez is a big swing based on both the subject matter as well as the mode of filmmaking Jacques Audiard uses to tell the story of a Mexican cartel leader, Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón), who wishes to secretly obtain sex reassignment surgery to affirm their gender identity and start over a new life outside of the cartel. To do this, Manitas recruits Rita (Zoe Saldana) to act as her agent and coordinate the details, including looking after Juan’s wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children. Three years later, Rita meets Emilia Pérez and recognizes the eyes of the person she helped obtain transition care. One other thing has changed about Emilia, she wants to try to use her resources to help people. Emilia forms an NGO dedicated to resolving missing person cases, often relying on her knowledge from her previous life. To tell this story, Audiard attempts to combine elements from the telenova and musical modes to reflect the film’s Mexican setting and to allow for more emotional expression than is typically found in a thriller.

What is remarkable about the film is how well these three elements work together, sometimes even taking turns in the same sequence to emphasize different aspects and emotions within the story. Emilia Pérez feels like a high wire act in trying to balance all of these while weaving an emotionally complex story. While it would be easy to reduce some of the plot developments as silly or forced–especially Emilia revealing herself to Jessi and her sons as a long lost aunt who insists they move in with her–they speak to these modes of filmmaking. There is an emotional truth here, and, while it is depicted using two of the most emotionally unrestrained types of storytelling, that does not make it any less resonant or authentic. What carries the film through its many twists and turns are the performances.

I hadn’t seen Karla Sofía Gascón before, but knowing that she helped shaped the character of Emilia–and even insisted that she also play the character before Emilia transitions–makes her performance even more impressive. Gascón shows Emilia as a character who is haunted by her past. She has tried to leave her past behind in some ways, but, especially when it comes to her former wife and children or thinking about the impact of those she hurt when running the cartel, it is ultimately impossible. She brings so much dimensionality to the role, and it feels important to note that Emilia herself is the one who decides she needs to perform redemptive acts for her past life. After she physically transitions, she explores her queerness, and that lens informs the ways she confronts her past and also the status quo. As a film, Emilia Pérez is more obviously about transition and queerness, but that point of view deeply informs some of its most powerful statements about class. The story would not work at all without Gascón’s performance, emphasized by her gender never being questioned after her appearance changes to match her gender identity. Her transness is intrinsic to the story but does not serve as a motivation for the other characters. She is never overtly targeted or harassed because of her status as a trans person, which emphasizes her individuality as well. Pérez doesn’t need to represent all trans people, because it always feels like the film treats her character as a specific person.

While Emilia is able to use her previously accumulated fortune, Rita and Jessi are more motivated by their economic status. Rita starts the film successfully defending a rich man who likely murdered his wife and ends the film using all of her experience to try and rescue Emilia from mistakes that have spiraled out of control. While other filmmakers seem to struggle with casting Saldaña outside of major action sci-fi franchises (she is great in all three of them), Emilia Pérez utilizes her physicality perfectly. Whether she is dancing, singing, or dodging gunfire, Saldaña performs all with aplomb but never sacrifices character either. Rita has been drawn into this world–and this story–against her will, but she never fully abandons her principles, even when making choices that surprise even her. This is one of Saldaña’s career-best performances, showing a range and dynamism not always offered to her characters in other roles. Gomez completes this trifecta of actresses, and she elevates the role of “criminal’s wife” with her charisma and command of what she is asked to do. Jessi’s arc goes in some surprising directions, but Gomez foregrounds her pathos, which helps smooth out some of the more outlandish plot choices.

With three major performances, there’s a lot to appreciate about Emilia Pérez. There are some clunky aspects to the editing and cinematography, both of which could be tighter. But this is by nature, a shaggy and meandering story. Drawing from its telenova inspiration and leaning into its twists and turns make this an unusual but highly entertaining thriller.