Emilia Perez: Movie Review

Cast: Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofia Gascon, Edgar Ramirez
Director: Jacques Audiard

There's no more audacious a swing that a director can take than trying to tell a story in a completely different way, upending expectations of audiences and surprising in equal measure.

Step forward A Prophet director Jacques Audiard, who adapts his opera libretta which is taken from Boris Razon's 2018 novel Ecoute.

Zoe Saldana delivers a mesmerising performance as put-upon lawyer Rita Mora Castro, whose underappreciated work catches the eye of a mysterious caller. Lured to a meeting, Rita's asked to help Mexican cartel kingpin Juan Del Monte undergo secret gender-affirmation surgery to help escape his life.

But while the procedure is a success, things are further complicated four years later when Rita encounters Juan, now living as Emilia Perez, and they ask for his former wife Jessi (Only Murders In The Building's Selena Gomez) and children to be relocated to live together...

In among the directorial bravado and bluster, Audiard's melodrama has moments that soar.

Yet it's also grounded by moments that stand out for their weakness. From slightly underwritten characters that skirt the tropes of stereotypes to a finale that's entirely predictable, Emilia Perez is occasionally found wanting.

But it's Saldana's humanity and Gascon's tenderness that propels this tale along. Coupled with some incredible choreography and a punchiness that pervades the dance scenes throughout, the film's sincere desire to subvert audiences proves to be an overwhelming one.

Gomez is perhaps the weaker link in this - her gangster's moll feels drawn from a well of cliches (even down to affairs) and even she can't lift Jessi from the realms of put-upon trope. 

Thankfully with urgent beats and lyrical deftness punctuating a lot of the songs (rap, dance, big numbers all mix up the film's tone), there's never a dull moment on screen - and as a result, the film hooks you in ways you least expect - despite its overtly melodramatic edges.