This is the official submission from France to the 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature. Jacques Audiard wrote and directed it, based on a libretto he adapted from a 2018 novel by French author, Boris Razon. It won the Jury Prize and Best Actress for its female ensemble at the 77th Cannes Film Festival where it premiered. There are some Oscar predictions that say this film could be nominated for Best Picture. It would bring another Audiard film to the Oscars since A Prophet was listed at the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Yet, its nomination for Best Foreign Language Film didn't go to Audiard. If this current film goes up for Best Picture, Best Director or Best Writing, it would be Audiard's first nomination.
If you know anything about independent or international films, there have been several dramas involving or about a transgender woman. In fact, Sebastián Lelio's A Fantastic Woman (2018) was nominated at the 90th Academy Awards, which is straightforwardly about modern-day transphobia. Many in the LGBTQ community have been waiting for something more than just another, small, dramatic film in that vein. They've waited for something like this, which is a bit bigger budgeted film, one that has bigger stars and one that tackles a genre that might be more muscular than just being a musical and one that doesn't necessarily villainize trans people. There have been musicals like 20 Centimeters (2005) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), but a more muscular genre would be something like crime, action or fantasy.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) was a film in the crime or bank heist genre, but its transgender character was more in the background. Audiard's film is both a musical and in the crime genre, but it puts its trans character in the foreground or more in the forefront than that 1975 classic. Zoe Saldaña (Avatar: The Way of Water and Guardians of the Galaxy) is even more in the forefront. She plays Rita Mora Castro, a lawyer and defense attorney from the Dominican Republic who now lives in Mexico but would love to pursue a more lucrative career in England. She starts out as feeling frustrated in her job, as she feels less than second fiddle and perhaps a bit oppressed by a general haze of sexism.
Karla Sofía Gascón co-stars as Emilia Pérez, a transgender woman who used to be the head of a drug cartel in Mexico. She hires Rita as her lawyer. She hires Rita before her transition and then again after her transition. What is impressive is seeing Gascón's performance before the transition and then after. That performance is pretty incredible. She's believable as feeling like two completely different people. Audiard photographs her before the transition in mostly darkness and photographs her after the transition in mostly bright daylight, which underscores how each character is meant to be seen.
France's submission to the 94th Academy Awards was Titane (2021), another narrative about a criminal and murderer who changes their sex or gender. Julia Ducournau's film, which didn't get the nomination, was ostensibly about trying to leave one's past behind and in small ways atoning for their previous misdeeds. Emilia is trying to atone in larger ways than the protagonist in Titane. Ducournau's film was likely more about escaping punishment and not necessarily atoning. Ducournau's film might also be more about changing superficially and not in any real way. It might also be about hiding. That's just not the case with Emilia. Yes, Emilia is hiding to a degree but she possibly believes her changes aren't just superficial.
Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building and Wizards of Waverly Place) rounds out the cast as Jessica Del Monte aka "Jessi," the ex-wife to Emilia who doesn't know that Emilia used to be her husband. It's odd because Rita recognizes Emilia almost right away. Jessi was married to Emilia and had two children with Emilia and yet Jessi doesn't recognize her ex-lover at all. Emilia introduces herself to Jessi as a long lost relative to Jessi's ex-husband. Emilia even invites Jessi to live with her. Emilia does so mainly because she wants to spend time with Jessi's children who are also Emilia's. The film becomes how Emilia and Jessi basically clash over custody of the kids.
All of it builds to a crazy climax. This film is a musical, so a lot of it is somewhat melodramatic. That crazy climax, therefore, is fitting given the heightened emotions expressed in the musical numbers. The various songs do a good job of expressing the thoughts and feelings inside each of the women. Yet, I would argue that out of a dozen or so tracks, only one of the ditties is catchy enough to be remembered. Rita sings a song called "El mal," about the corrupt politicians in Mexico that draws you the most. Other than that, I've mostly forgotten all of them. Yes, there is a musical number called "La vaginoplastia" that is getting excoriated online, but it's more silly than offensive.
I do have nitpicks about the fact that the back half of this film is predicated on Jessi not knowing the truth about who Emilia was. I'm not sure why Emilia wouldn't have told Jessi the truth from the beginning. There's an incident toward the end that would also make you think Emilia would be compelled to tell Jessi the truth sooner than she does. However, it could be forgiven because it allows for a trans character to be involved in an action crime sequence that's exciting and exhilarating. Unfortunately, the trans character isn't centered in the action. In fact, Emilia is pretty much sidelined for that action sequence all together, which was rather disappointing.
Rated R for language, some violent content, and sexual material.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 12 mins.
Available on Netflix.