EMILIA PÉREZ

This film clearly isn't afraid to discuss modern issues - the struggles trans people still face in many countries, the horrors and corruption rife in Mexico, and domestic violence, among others. While it's a credit that it touches on these topics, there are some concerns with the way they're handled... personally, with one in particular. The way Emilia talks about Manitas is that they're two separate people; they were two distinct lives. Manitas was a terrible human, had a black soul, killed many people, had many more people killed, destroyed countless families. Yet he's offered a chance at redemption - and for what? Simply because he has the means to buy his way out.

The story sees Emilia and Rita work together to create a charity that finds those missing at the hands of the cartel. It's something of a means of redemption for Emilia. It's also meant to make us feel sympathetic towards her. That attempt is a disservice to countless Mexican families caught in the reality of the situation. In 2006, the country's government declared a war on the cartels. Since then, more than 431,000 homicides have been recorded. A further 90,000 people have disappeared between then and 2022. So very little sympathy should be evoked for someone responsible for even a small portion of those nauseating figures.

Another concern is the language in the film. Being a French filmmaker, Spanish is not necessarily Audiard's strength; he also wrote the script. Attending the screening of 'Emilia Pérez' with a Spanish-speaking friend, he outlined a number of inaccuracies, particularly within the musical number 'Bienvenida'.

On the topic of the musical numbers, the film's origin is quite a unique one. Audiard came across Boris Razon's 2018 French novel 'Écoute', in which a cartel boss expresses a desire to transition gender. Fascinated with the idea, Audiard wrote the story as an opera libretto, which would then evolve into the film. The music numbers were developed by his own production company and written by singer-songwriter Camille, and range from raw and urgent (such as 'El Alegato'), powerful (like 'El Mal') and fun and energetic ('La Vaginoplastia', for instance). They do overall, however, lack the catchiness you'd expect from a collection of musical numbers; there's no one song you're going to leave the cinema humming for days.

The question I'm left with is: why is 'Emilia Pérez' a musical? The songs don't particularly progress the plot, encapsulate a character's feelings in ways we aren't already aware of, or reveal something new or unexpected. As a queer member of the audience, I'm left to - somewhat cynically - wonder if it's because a straight director feels musicals appeal to the queer community.

Where Audiard does succeed is in balancing the weight of the work with moments of lightness. There are welcome elements of comedy littered throughout the film - certainly, it won't have you laughing out loud, but the audience in my screening was having a good chuckle. These times of levity do at least break up what feels like a very long 132-minute run time.

The other impressive achievement of the film is its casting. While I don't particularly love the way the character of Rita is written - rather two-dimensional, world-weary and eternally unhappy regardless of her situation in life - Zoe Saldana's performance in the role is exceptional. This is something out of the box for the actor, and it's wonderful to see her stretching her wings and using rarely-exhibited skills. Even better, her Spanish is spot-on; with a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother, it's clear she's comfortable with the language. I enjoy the energy Selena Gomez brings to practically every project, and it's a perfect fit here. Again, she's lumped with a relatively two-dimensional character (and worse, limited screen time to grow in), but her presence is vibrant and vivacious.

Of course, the great revelation is Karla Sofía Gascón. Given the greatest scope to play with, the Spanish actor does well to bring empathy to the role. The first thing I think of when considering the character is "mother"; be that literally or in the warmth exuded to those around her. While the portrayal of Manitas is a little rough around the edges (the prosthetics are quite obvious, and the voice is a bit over the top), this performance is clearly worthy of its historical first transgender nomination for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.

'Emilia Pérez' is currently the talk of the town, and that's fantastic... for its trans representation. At its core, it's a problematic film that tries to conceal its complications with glitz and glamour. Perhaps its biggest issue is that it tries to cover too many grand issues and, therefore, lacks a constant thread throughout its story. So throw implausibility aside and dive in - but be aware that despite all the talk, this is a highly flawed and, at best, mediocre movie.