Jacques Audiard created a story in Emelia Perez one might have seen in a telenovela, but otherwise it’s pretty original in its scope. The hook is a key to why this film is so good, but the music and choreography are the reasons to keep watching it as the story unfolds. There isn’t a movie in any language quite like this one. There’s a reason why it’s getting so much buzz for awards season.

Rita (Zoe Saldana) is toiling away at being a lawyer in Mexico. She knows she deserves a better life, but doesn’t know how to achieve it. When she gets a phone call to go to a newsstand near where she works she’s curious about it.  It turns out she gets kidnapped and brought to see a gangster, Manitas Del Monte Karla Sophia Gascon). He wants to give her a large amount of money, $2000,000 to work for him. She agrees, but the catch is he wants her to organize a sex change operation and everything that goes along with it. 

Besides being a typical telenovela this film is a musical. When things are being thought of or said sometimes they are sung instead of being verbalized. This works pretty well for the movie and story Audiard is trying to make/tell. The songs are catchy and they involve plot points that move the story forward. In some ways they are like an inner monologue of the person singing said song. Along with the songs is fantastic choreography.  Dancing, hand gestures, and sound effects make some of the songs pretty catchy. I was into most of them. 

Zoe Saldana is an actress who most people know from her work in the MCU as Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and in The Avatar films. She’s done some other things that have led to her performance in this movie though. Things like Colombiana and Special Ops: Lioness. These roles showed me she was ready for something deeper in her career. She found that role in Emilia Perez.  I loved how she controlled all the scenes she was in and commanded the screen. This may be the best performance of her career. I was glued to the screen every time she was in a scene. 

Karla Sophia Gascon is an actress I wasn’t as familiar with as a couple of the others in the film, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t get my attention in this performance.  She was mesmerizing to watch knowing the story that was unfolding before me. Especially during a scene with Selina Gomez after her character got home late from being out with her boyfriend Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez). You could cut the tension with a knife during that scene. Once she changes over she is still as cutthroat as she was before the transition to place. She gives an incredible performance in this role.

Another actress I’ve seen a lot of growth from in recent years is Selina Gomez. She is fantastic in Only Murders in the Building opposite Steve Martin & Martin Short. If she can hold her with those two comic icons then she can work opposite anybody. Here she plays a somewhat villainous wife/figure and she has a nasty side to her. She’s also a bit jealous of Emilia Perez as well. His true colors definitely come out when things aren’t going her way. Gomez seems to revel in this type of character. Similarly to Saldanha & Gascon Gomez gives a career-best performance from my humble perspective. 

Besides the singing & choreography, another aspect of the movie I thought was very good was the cinematography by Paul Guillaume was stellar. The way he used light in so many different ways was terrific. Also, the daylight scenes in Mexico and the wintery scenes in Switzerland were just as amazing. All the various locations had a distinct look about them. That’s the mark of a well-seasoned cinematographer. The night stuff he shot showed how good he truly was though. His look gave the film a look like no other this year.

There are going to be people who bash this movie because of the transgender stuff in it. I feel the transgender situation was handled very well by Audiard and the makeup and hairstyling team.  There was no need to get graphic with this stuff. A line on the screen in yellow letters says “Four Years Later” sufficed. Once you see Emilia Perez in her dress hair and makeup you know it is the same person you saw before with tattoos, greasy black hair, and gold teeth. There is no need to get too crazy about this stuff. It’s a small part of the film. This shouldn’t hurt the film’s chances of getting nominated or winning awards next year.

Emilia Perez is unlike any movie I’ve seen all year. It combines a telenovela with a musical and does a great job with both of these genres. The three main actresses, Gascon, Saldana, and Gomez are all outstanding in their various roles. Arguably giving the best performances of their careers. The songs & choreography are both very good. I can see at least one song, MI Camino (My Way) from the film getting nominated for Best Song. There is nothing like this in theaters today or no streaming. The originality of the story and the combination of genres make it stand out as one of the best films I’ve seen all year. It’s fantastic. Auduard and company have a major awards contender on their hands. 

4 ½ stars

Dan Skop Allen