A new musical crime thriller on Netflix starring Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña has left viewers completely baffled, with verdicts ranging from “boring” to “movie of the year”.
Emilia Perez was called the most divisive film of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and arrived on Netflix on 13 November.
The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, stars Karla Sofía Gascón as the titular character, a Mexican drug cartel leader who undergoes gender affirmation surgery to medically transition.
Perez recruits a gritty lawyer played by Saldaña, to help her go through with the process, while her wife, played by Gomez, and children are relocated to Switzerland for their safety.
The ambitious movie currently holds a positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, but judging by social media reactions, it has been wildly alienating.
A particular scene, where Saldana has the process of a sex change operation explained to her through the medium of song, has already gone viral, racking up more than 4 million views at the time of writing.
The person who uploaded it wrote: “THIS IS NOT A REAL MOVIE.” They later added: “I’m 20 minutes in and this was already the second time I had to pause the movie just to laugh because oh my god.”
Another detractor called it “the most boring, generic crime drama you can conceive of, with the occasional demented music number inserted in”.
A third person said: “A horrendously miscalculated medley of poor taste creative decisions in an attempt to seem ‘important’ and ‘empathetic.’”
In a much more positive take, one viewer said: “The film was such a unique blend of comedy, crime, and musical elements that worked together in the most unexpected ways. The themes of identity and transformation were handled beautifully.”
Another person said that although the film was still “bats***” it still “flows with the context of the film. I kinda loved what it was doing and the story it was telling.”
In a review on Out, Mexican trans film critic Mey Rude said: Emilia Pérez isn’t just one of the best trans movies you’ll ever see, it’s one of the most unique and brilliant films of the year.”
2024 TIFF – "Emilia Perez" Portrait Session (2024 Invision)
At Cannes, Gascón and her co-stars shared the best actress prize, which she accepted.
Now, Gascón is widely forecast to be nominated for best actress at the Academy Awards.
Emilia Perez is available to watch now on Netflix.
