Current:Home > Contact-usReview: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Review: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024
View Date:2024-12-23 11:47:27
The next time you can't decide what kind of movie to watch, stream "Emilia Pérez."
In just over two hours, there's pretty much everything: noir crime thriller, thought-provoking redemption tale, deep character study, comedic melodrama and, yes, even a go-for-broke movie musical.
The other important thing about Netflix’s standout Spanish-language Oscar contender? You won’t find a more talented group of women, whose performances keep French director Jacques Audiard’s movie grounded the more exaggerated it gets as the cast breaks into song-and-dance numbers.
Trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón is a revelation as a drug kingpin desperate to live a different, female existence in "Emilia Pérez" (★★★½ out of four; rated R; streaming Wednesday). She's one of several strong-willed personalities seeking inner joy or real love in their complicated lives: Selena Gomez plays a mom driven back into old bad habits, while Zoe Saldaña turns in an exceptional and multifaceted performance as an ambitious attorney caught in the middle of drama.
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Rita (Saldaña) is a defense lawyer in Mexico who toils for an unappreciative boss while also making him look good in court. But someone does notice her skills: Rita receives an offer she can’t refuse from Manitas (Gascón), a notorious cartel boss who yearns to live authentically as a woman and hires Rita to find the right person for the gender affirmation surgery. After moving Manitas’ wife Jessi (Gomez) and their two boys to Switzerland, Rita helps him fake his death while Manitas goes under the knife and becomes Emilia.
Four years later, Rita’s in London at a get-together when she meets and recognizes Emilia, who says she misses her children and wants Rita to help relocate them back to Mexico. (Emilia tells them she's Manitas' "distant cousin.") Rita moves back home and helps Emilia start a nonprofit to find the missing bodies of drug cartel victims for their family members. While Emilia tries to make amends for her crimes, she becomes increasingly angry at Jessi for neglecting the kids and reconnecting with past lover Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez).
And on top of all this dishy intrigue is how it works with the movie's musical elements. Original songs are interspersed within the narrative in sometimes fantastical ways and mostly for character-development purposes. They tend to be more rhythmically abstract than showtunes, but by the end, you’ll be humming at least one rousing melody.
Saldaña gets the lion’s share of the showstoppers, including one set in a hospital and another at a gala where Rita sings about how their organization is being financed by crooks. Gomez gets jams of the dance-floor and exasperatingly raging variety, and Gascón has a few moments to shine, like the ballad that showcases her growing feelings toward Epifania (Adriana Paz), a woman who's glad when her no-good criminal husband is found dead.
Gascón is spectacular in her dual roles, under a bunch of makeup as the shadowy Manitas and positively glowing as the lively Emilia. What’s so good is she makes sure each reflects the other: While Manitas has a hint of vulnerability early on, sparks of Emilia's vengeful former self become apparent as past sins and bad decisions come back to bite multiple characters in an explosive but haphazard finale.
The stellar acting and assorted songs boost much of the familiar elements in "Emilia Pérez,” creating something inventively original and never, ever bland.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Michigan soldier’s daughter finally took a long look at his 250 WWII letters
- Alabama man declared 'mentally ill' faces execution by method witnesses called 'horrific'
- Takeaways from an AP and Texas Tribune report on 24 hours along the US-Mexico border
- UNLV quarterback sitting out rest of season due to unfulfilled 'commitments'
- Rafael dissolves into a low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico after hitting Cuba as a hurricane
- New 'Wuthering Heights' film casting sparks backlash, accusations of whitewashing
- Dancing With the Stars’ Danny Amendola Sets Record Straight on Xandra Pohl Dating Rumors
- Deion Sanders, Colorado's 'Florida boys' returning home as heavy underdogs at Central Florida
- Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
- Alabama Jailer pleads guilty in case of incarcerated man who froze to death
Ranking
- ‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
- Were people in on the Montreal Screwjob? What is said about the incident in 'Mr. McMahon'
- Houston Astros win AL West after win over Seattle Mariners
- US public schools banned over 10K books during 2023-2024 academic year, report says
- Oregon's Dan Lanning, Indiana's Curt Cignetti pocket big bonuses after Week 11 wins
- Cal State campuses brace for ‘severe consequences’ as budget gap looms
- Tropical Weather Latest: Swaths of Mexico and Florida under hurricane warnings as Helene strengthens
- New survey finds nearly half of Asian Americans were victims of a hate act in 2023
Recommendation
-
Jelly Roll goes to jail (for the best reason) ahead of Indianapolis concert
-
In dueling speeches, Harris is to make her capitalist pitch while Trump pushes deeper into populism
-
DWTS’ Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko Detail “Chemistry” After Addressing Romance Rumors
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for September 24 drawing; jackpot at $62 million
-
NASCAR Cup Series Championship race 2024: Start time, TV, live stream, odds, lineup
-
Harley-Davidson recalls over 41,000 motorcycles: See affected models
-
X releases its first transparency report since Elon Musk’s takeover
-
Sean Diddy Combs and Kim Porter’s Kids Break Silence on Rumors About Her Death and Alleged Memoir