Netflix’s award-winning musical crime comedyEmilia Perezhas ignited its share of controversy, and starKarla Sofía Gascónis addressing that backlash. Gascón leads the star-studded film as a former Mexican cartel leader, Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, who embarks on a transformative journey to become the titular character. For her portrayal, Gascón has garnered critical acclaim, a Cannes Film Festival win, and is a major awards season contender. Should she receive an Oscar nod for Best Actress - and she is expected to - Gascón will be the first openly trans woman to earn a nomination in the category. She’s already made history as the first trans woman in the Golden Globes' Best Actress race (that win went to co-star Zoe Saldaña).
Despite a phenomenal cast and awards season buzz,Emilia Pérezhas received significant criticism since its release. During a conversation withVanity Fair, Gascón spoke about the negative commentary surrounding the movie:
“Many are running a negative, nasty campaign against the film, so anything that I say, they will use it to make their case bigger. They hate difference. They intend to control people’s bodies because that ends up being a way also to control their minds.When something has a big impact and is liked by many, others hate it just for existing.”
‘Emilia Pérez’ Divides, but Captivates
The Spanish-language musical crime comedy follows Saldaña’s Rita Mora Castro, a Mexican lawyer who is hired to assist the notorious “Manitas” in retiring and transitioning into living as a woman, a lifelong dream for the cartel leader. That plotline alone is likely to provoke conservative groups. In addition to the barrage of hateful comments posted on social media, the film faced criticism from prominent figures like Marion Maréchal, a leading voice of the French far-right, who (following the cast’s Cannes win) posted on X:“So a man has won the Best Actress prize… progress for the left is the erasure of women and mothers.“Furthermore, LGBTQ+ advocates, includingGLAAD, have also criticized the film, arguing that it"is a step backward for trans representation.“Speaking to those critics, Gascón told the publication:
“Being LGBTQ, having those labels, does not remove your stupidity, just like heterosexuality does not remove your stupidity. What bothers me is that the people that say things like that [are] just sitting down at home doing nothing. If you don’t like it, go and make your own movie. Go create the representation you want to see for your community.
There are some that say, ‘I want to see LGBTQ or trans characters outdoing what people do in real life,’ but we do bad things too…. I don’t understand the criticism about the representation of portraying Emilia Pérez this way. The reality is that the trans experience is not the same for everybody—my trans experience is different from somebody else’s.”
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Jacques Audiard’s new musical crime film Emilia Pérez stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez. What does the ending mean?
The film’sportrayal of cultural stereotypes was another source of contentionfor critics and audiences. Also, the Spanish-language film is directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (who does not speak Spanish), was shot in France (despite being set in Mexico), and only features one Mexican actress in a starring role.
Despite criticism, critics have loudly praised the unconventional film. But let’s make no mistake:Emilia Pérezis far from perfect. It’s something most of us can agree on. There’s likely another thing we can agree on:Emilia Pérezboasts an immensely talented cast. InMovieWeb’s review of the “flawed musical,” Jericho Tadeo praises Saldaña’s performance as Rita Mora Castro as arguably the “most all-encompassing role” of her career, making special note of the scenes where she plays opposite Gascón.USA Todaysays the"stellar acting and assorted songs boost much of the familiar elements in ‘Emilia Pérez,’ creating something inventively original and never, ever bland.“Make that the third point we can concur on:Emilia Pérezis unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
Emilia Perez
In Mexico, a lawyer receives an unexpected offer to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he’s always dreamed of being.
