Illustration by Michael DiMilo
The Real Me: Film Review of Emilia Perez
★★★★1/2
By Geoff Carter
The logline, or short description of a film, can sound ridiculous or completely unlikely. Try this one, “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets, then teams up with three strangers to do it again.” (Wildfire Movies). Doesn’t really sound like The Wizard of Oz, does it? Yet the description fits.
Or the premise of JoJo Rabbit, in which the hero is a young German boy whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler? I was appalled when I first read about this movie. Who would make a film like this valorizing Hitler? But, of course, as anyone who has seen the film will tell you, it is a warm and heartfelt film about love and acceptance that condemns the Nazis and antisemitism.
If I run across another logline that reads, “In this musical, a Mexican cartel chief fakes her own death to undergo gender affirmation surgery in order to live as she has always wished,” I might wonder if this was a joke. What the hell would a movie like this look like?
I needn’t have worried. Emilia Perez is a brilliant and unexpected film, taking us deep into the dark world of cartels and criminality, as well as into the depths of human regret, despair, suffering, and hope—and redemption.
The film begins as attorney Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana) is putting together a defense for a prominent public figure who is accused of murdering his wife. Though she knows it is not true, she writes the argument that the death was a suicide. Her male associate argues the case, getting all the credit, adding to Castro’s frustration and disillusionment as expressed in the song “El Alegato”.
Castro is contacted by a mysterious figure who turns out be Juan “Manita” del Monte (Karla Sofia Gascon), a cartel chief who wants Castro to secure him a doctor so he can secretly undergo gender-affirming surgery. Fed up with her job, Castro agrees and flies to Bangkok and meets with a surgical team to the strains of “La vaginoplastico” but finally settles on Dr. Wasserman (Mark Ivanir) who agrees to perform the procedure after hearing Monte relate instances of gender dysphoria during his childhood.
After the successful surgery and recover, Monte fakes his own death and relocates his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and children to Switzerland and releases Castro, a much wealthier woman, from his service.
Four years later, Castro meets the elegant Emilia Perez during a trip to London. After a moment, she realizes Perez is the man formerly known as Montes. At first fearful, Castro is reassured by Perez that all she wants is to be reunited with her children. Castro fetches Jessi and the children from Switzerland, explaining they are to live one of del Montes’ distant aunts, Emilia Perez. Unhappy with the move, but happy to be reunited with ex-lover Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez).
During the move to Mexico, Emilia runs across the mother of a missing man. Feeling guilty for all the murders and mayhem she committed as del Monte, she creates a non-profit to help identify the bodies of cartel victims. Castro helps to expand the non-profit even while recognizing that some of the donors are evil and corrupt, as she angrily explicates in the stirring number “El Mal”.
Jessi announces that she and Gustavo want to marry and will be taking the children with them. When Emilia refuses and assaults her, Jessi flees, but Emilia cuts off her allowance and forces Gustavo to leave Mexico. Desperate, Jessi kidnaps Emilia, demanding the children as ransom. During the exchange, Emilia reveals who he is to Jessi by relating intimate details of their first encounter and wedding day. Things do not quite turn out as expected, and Castor—once again—is left to pick up the pieces.
Based on Boris Razon’s book Ecoute, and its subsequent opera libretto by director Jacques Audiard, Emilia Perezis a dark movie (literally and figuratively) that digs deeply into the depths of longing, desire, and redemption in his characters. The songs are—with a few exceptions—angry and confrontational. The opening number in which Rita Castro is disgusted with the hypocrisy, futility, and misogynism of the Mexican justice system is not only an indictment of society but of herself as well. The song and dance puts her straight in the crosshairs of personal responsibility.
The cinematography of this number, and most of the film, is dark. When Castro is blindfolded and taken to see del Monte, she is taken through darkness to meet the kingpin, who is half-hidden in shadows, and out of this darkness comes his lifelong dream of becoming a woman. Part of the recurring theme—and controversy—of the film involves misogyny and traditional gender roles. It is not until after she becomes a woman that Emilia begins to understand the horrors her former self had wrought as a cartel chief and seeks to make amends for her crimes. As a man, Emilia did nothing and seemed to feel nothing about it. Some critics have said it reinforces stereotypes of gender transition and Mexican culture and have complained that the Spanish language sections are poorly done.
But Emilia Perez is a fascinating watch. It is a compelling story full of desire, energy, and righteousness. The story—as described in the logline—seems so unlikely, outlandish, and sensationalized, that when it eventually unfolds into a heartfelt story celebrating grace, humanity, and self-realization, it seems miraculous. The performances in this feature are simply brilliant. In the dual roles of Juan del Monte and Emilia Perez, Karla Sofia Gascon shows extraordinary range. From the menacing cartel chief to the doting husband and father to the guilt-stricken philanthropist, Gascon carries off the role(s) as a person redefining their world as well as their identity flawlessly. Zoe Saldana, known mostly for her action roles in sci-fi and superhero sagas, demonstrates a depth and sensitivity rarely seen (or necessary) in her mundane roles.
Emilia Perez is an unusual but brilliant movie. It is simultaneously heart-rending and horrific but is ultimately a timeless tale of redemption, self-discovery, and the power of love.
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