Going as far as throwing the kitchen sink in with a profusion of themes and ideas, the operatic musical-drama-comedy-thriller Emilia Pérez blends originality with familiar conceits. Writer-director Jacques Audiard springboards from a minor character in the book Écoute, featuring a cartel kingpin who transitions to become a woman. Not a shocking concept by standards of someone like Pedro Almodóvar, a director who might have put more humor into the story. Audiard, however, emphasizes music, using various choreographed routines and 16 songs, mostly sung in Spanish by four key characters. Both Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez come with recognizable credits from other projects like Avatar and Only Murders in the Building, while Andriana Paz and Karla Sofía Gascón get impressive international breakthroughs with the project, which gave all four shared best actress honors at the Cannes Film Festival. Gascón takes on the title character, using her own real life experiences transitioning from man to woman. Skilled at acting, Gascón goes beyond any gimmicky sensibility in an emotionally sound performance. With hit songs like “Lose You to Love Me” behind her, Gomez proves a natural in her musical role, while Saldaña switches easily from her action/sci fi skills into smooth dancing and singing. Saldaña’s Guardians of the Galaxy fans might not switch over easily to a project that avoids traditional box office fodder, but director Audiard and the character Emilia Pérez would rather challenge than appease. They succeed.
Comments