Did French writer Jacques Audiard feel inspired to make his latest film, Emilia Perez, by watching Chachi 420? Strange things have happened this year. Nick Jonas celebrated Holi in Greater Noida, and Ed Sheeran fried potato vadas with Sanjyot Keer. Is the idea of Palme d’Or winner Udiard watching a Kamal Haasan rip-off really so outlandish? Genre-fluid mess that it is, Emilia Perez is definitely the origin Mainstream Indian cinema – It can go from Ekta Kapoor style drama to Farah Khan inspired music in minutes. And like many films in our country, its gender politics are not entirely above reproach.
Like its protagonist, who secretly longs to be a woman, the film takes many shapes and forms. Transitions are not always seamless; The filmmaking is loud, confrontational, and overconfident. But there are also moments of tenderness, such as the one in which two characters sing softly to each other about acceptance and rejection. And then, there are a lot of fun scenes, in which one of the characters gets caught up in being privileged to pay their dues.
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Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez’s Stills.
Zoe Saldana plays Rita, a lawyer whose ethical compromises in her work drive her to despair and anger. After arguing another case to an unsatisfying end, Rita receives a phone call from a cartel boss named Manitas, who gives her an unusual task: secretly finding a surgeon willing to perform gender-affirming surgery. Rita travels around the world, from Bangkok to Tel Aviv, where she sings broad-minded songs to convince the doctor to do the job. Manitas is reincarnated as Emilia Perez, played by trans actor Carla Sofia Gascon.
Meanwhile, Manitas’ family – wife Jesse and two children – are taken to Switzerland, where they live for five years before Manitas is killed in a gang war. Rita helps maneuver. She changed a lot over the years, ditching the shabby pantsuits she wore in Mexico City for sleek shirts in London. One evening, while chatting with friends over a few drinks, she bumps into Emilia. Regretting how she handled things with her family – especially her children – Emilia asks to be reunited with them. Disguised as a long-absent aunt, she invites Jessie and the kids to stay with her. She also shows remorse for her past crimes, and with Rita’s help, sets up an NGO to rehabilitate the wives of gang members killed by her cartel.
There’s a grungy quality to Emilia Perez — it’s not techno music; It’s all jagged edges and jarring tonal shifts. While Gascón and Saldaña make for a pair of leads, Selena Gomez proves to be a wildcard as Jessie, Manitas’ long-suffering wife. Although it’s a bit odd that Gomez – the trio’s only bona fide vocalist – doesn’t get a chance to belt out a banger. Her two numbers are mostly muted, while Saldana gets herself some show-stoppers. Gascón, on the other hand, gets a memorable number in which one of Emilia’s children seems to hear the truth out, quite literally.
Never before has Audiard made films about reinvention so bold. Ironically, his last film was a relatively staid black-and-white drama about young love. Emilia Pérez is uncontrollable. It needs to be seen, heard and believed. That being said, it does seem to ruffle some feathers for the portrayal of the trance experience. Many knowledgeable about these matters have suggested that separating Emilia’s personalities into binaries was not the most sensible thing Audiard could have done. However, there is no mistaking the sympathy felt not only for Emilia, but also for Rita and Jessie – three women who fearlessly take control of their lives in self-preservation.
Carla Sofia Gascon and Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez’s Stills.
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As for the music, however, Emilia Perez’s songs are not really memorable. But Audiard’s staging is often. From the first track to the last, the filmmaker is consistently able to tap into the anxieties and ambitions of these characters with his engaging camerawork, dynamic lighting, and of course, the excellent performances of his three stars. Emilia Perez sings, and so does the film.
Emilia Perez
Director – Jacques Audiard
Starring – Carla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez
Rating – 3.5/5