Opening 28 Nov 2024
Directed by:
Jacques Audiard
Writing credits:
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi, Léa Mysius, Boris Razon
Principal actors:
Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramirez
Visually electric, musically vibrant and thematically rich with threads of a suspenseful thriller, intriguing drama, droll bits and variable types of love and pathos, Emilia Pérez is a film worth experiencing. France’s screenwriter-director-producer Jacques Audiard bases this award-winning film on his operetta libretto, loosely adapted from the novel Écoute (Boris Razon, 2018). Camille’s original songs with Clément Ducol’s score soar carrying Emilia Pérez to heights that climax at France’s 77th Cannes Film Festival 2024 where it won the Palme d'Or, the Jury Prize, and its leading female cast en bloc the Best Actress award. Clément Ducol & Camille won the Cannes 2024 Sound Award.
The musical sequence preamble acquaints audiences with Rita (Zoe Saldaña), a brilliant, young, hardworking attorney in Mexico City’s teeming justice system whose credit, time and again, is stolen by her boss (Edgar Ramírez). After one high-profile case is won, she receives an enigmatically cryptic message offering better, bigger things… including financial reward. Fed-up with her current position, she agrees to a meeting. The notorious, ruthless cartel warlord (Karla Sofía Gascón) is not who, or what she expected; Juan "Manitas" Del Monte’s offer, as alarming as it is enticing, confirms once in there is no going back. Manitas is driven, has eyes everywhere and a demanding timeline for this multi-tiered job that will need finesse and Rita’s quick wits to pull off. Particularly the part involving his family. Still, the reward is worth the risk and challenge. Dr. Wasserman (Mark Ivanir), skeptical, insists on meeting with the patient. Only when the deed is done, his wife (Selena Gomez) and children attended to, does Rita move into her new future. Fast-forward four years to an upscale London restaurant and lively group enjoying dinner conversation. Introduced to a colleague’s client, Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón), Rita fights to maintain control as realization dawns. Returning to Mexico City, one thing leads to another setting a new, surprising course for both women, prompting one to marvel, “For the first time I liked myself.”
Emilia Pérez is special. All the lead characters are likable—yes, even the warlord; the make-up department’s (Julia Floch-Carbonel, head) artistry on Del Monte deserves kudos. The Belgo-French choreographer Damien Jalet’s dance numbers are capricious, captivating—notice how dancers freeze on a note—and faultlessly interwoven. Camille’s songs impart insight into situations and/or characters containing important context in song lyrics so êter attention. Cinematographer Paul Guilhaume beautifully dispenses with multiple challenges, and Juliette Welfling astutely edits its multifariousness into this mesmerizing film. Audiard’s film earned a 9 to 11-minute standing ovation at Cannes. Dauntlessly creative originality, boldly brash and provocative social themes, e.g., highlighting the Mexican drug cartel’s violence, compellingly compassionate—Emilia Pérez is Audiard’s and our visceral musical journey. (Marinell Haegelin)
