Telluride Film Review: ‘Emilia Pérez’ is a Big Swing that Lands More Than It Doesn’t

Big swings are always fascinating to watch, whether they work or don’t. When they do, cinema grows and flourishes. When they don’t, it’s still a burst of creativity that you’ll never regret watching. For most, Emilia Pérez is the former. For me, it’s still that, though with occasional caveats. Still, whether it’s here at the Telluride Film Festival or when it comes to Netflix later on this year, it’s safe to say that this like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

Emilia Pérez is perhaps the first musical crime comedy, and that doesn’t even take into account the material itself. The boldness of the story, as well as the execution, make it easy to overlook elements that don’t fully work to embrace what does. Especially in terms of the central performances, you’re consistently drawn in.

Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldana) is a lawyer in Mexico City who is unappreciated by her boss and overqualified for her job. When a vague offer comes in from an unknown figure, Rita is just curious enough to pursue it. That puts her into the orbit of Manitas Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón) a cartel boss who instills fear in all around him. His offer to her is simple. Manitas wants Rita’s help in retiring from the world of organized crime. He wants to finally live his truth…as a woman. He’s been receiving hormone therapy for two years now and is ready to finish the process with gender-affirmation surgery. Rita will need to find the best surgeon to do the procedure while keeping it all a secret, including from Manitas’ wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children.

When the process is completed, Manitas fakes his death, which devastates Jessi, pays Rita, and emerges post-surgery as Emilia. She is the truth self that’s been inside all this time, and it unlocks a whole new perspective on the world. Missing her family, she reunites with Rita and has her bring Jessi back into her life, under the guise of being a cousin. Emilia and Rita also begin high profile charity work, which leads to the former meeting Epifania (Adriana Paz). However, when Jessi begins seeing Gustavo (Édgar Ramirez), a threat emerges to this newfound happiness.

The ladies here are all really good, turning in fearless performances. Karla Sofía Gascón is a wonderful discovery, while Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana are revelations. Gascón has such a hard role to play but does it perfectly, with such a deep well of emotion. Gomez gets to show layers we’ve never seen before from her, while Saldana’s singing and dancing proves a highlight. In addition to a lovely Adriana Paz and a small role for Édgar Ramirez, the cast also includes Eduardo Aladro, Mark Ivanir, plus a handful of others.

Filmmaker Jacques Audiard has made one of the most ambitious works of 2024. He’s having fun, but the comedy is on the lighter side, compared to the musical elements, or even the crime tale. There are silly moments, though emotion is the name of the game. For me, most of the songs are on the forgettable side, though when they land, they really land. The middle of the film does sag a bit, but it ends on a very strong note. I spent more of the movie admiring it and Audiard’s audacity than being captivated, but the good strongly outweighs the flatter elements.

Emilia Pérez is going to prove very popular with any open-minded cinephile. I’m delighted that this movie exists, even if it didn’t blow me away like it has for many others. It’s a distinctive part of this Telluride class and could well prove to be a major Oscar player. If Netflix can navigate the season properly, this could be one of their bigger contenders to date.

SCORE: ★★★