WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Emila Pérez.
Netflix crime comedy musical Emilia Pérez generated some controversy surrounding its supposed misrepresentation and flawed construction of the character of its trans protagonist, played by Karla Sofía Gascón. The combined talents of Gascón, Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez led the cast of Emilia Pérezwho won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Ensemble Award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival following its world premiere in May. Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, The Sisters Brothers), the genre-bending film offers innovative musical numbers and choreography infused with a harrowing story about unfulfilled desires and regrets.
The film is a loose adaptation of the 2018 novel Écoute by Boris Razon and is France’s official entry for Best International Film at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2, 2025. Emilia Pérez the soundtrack is the essential highlight of the film, as well as the heart and soul of the inspiring yet tragic narrative. Although Emilia Pérez Set in multiple locations, the film was shot primarily in studios in Paris, France. The story follows Saldaña’s Rita, a defense lawyer in Mexico City who seeks to make a difference but finds an unusual but lucrative opportunity to cartel boss Manitas Del Monte as he aims to fulfill his lifelong dream of transitioning into a woman.
Emilia Pérez was criticized for her problematic trans character arc
Emilia’s extreme shift from evil to good reinforces gender binaries
Emilia Pérez is innately dealing with the controversial topics of trans representation and equality in modern society, which naturally runs the risk of generating controversy and/or backlash. While the film has received widespread praise at festivals, it has also faced criticism for the alleged misuse of its lead trans character played by Gascón, a trans actress. The basic criticism is that Emilia Pérez can be seen as being quite limited and superficial in its portrayal of Emilia as a trans woman. A more critical perspective would argue that her portrayal is problematic, especially considering that Emilia becomes a completely different person after gender reassignment surgery.
Emilia essentially has a villain for a hero transformation of the evil and heartless Manitas into a virtuous and saintly community figure. Although narrative circumstances prevent her from expressing any glimpses of Manitas after he faked his death to protect his family name, Emilia’s “masculine evil” side still comes out later in the film when she attacks Jessi. Her voice deepens and reverses, breaking a crucial boundary previously maintained between Manitas and Emilia for years. It provides one of the film’s most shocking moments that drives the third act’s conflict, but does so at the expense of delegitimizing its protagonist.
Emilia Pérez uses trans tropes and feels uninformed about trans realities
Some viewers and critics have questioned the misinformation and exaggerated information about trans realities in Emilia Pérez. Nat Jones from Vulture he writes: “I’ll briefly note that the haters are correct that the film doesn’t have much to say about the lived experience of trans people. Emilia Pérez isn’t really about the trans experience, in part because Emilia Pérez isn’t “about” anything other than Emilia Pérez.” Not only is it Emilia Pérez accused of avoiding these realities, but the film also misrepresents certain aspects reality too, which does more to delay trans representation in cinema than to boost it.
Harrison Walker from The cut he writes: “I hope that a filmmaker so fascinated by the concept of transition, someone who has demonstrated a certain level of conscious sensitivity in his previous efforts to portray lives different from his own, will at least demonstrate an informed understanding of what this concept actually looks like in practice..”
Others argue that Emilia Pérez employs some qualities of the trans experience to the benefit of its story, leaving out other aspects this would do more to capture a more authentic portrait. Drew Burnett Gregory from Autostraddle notes the film’s inclusion of several trans tropes, such as “deadnaming, murderous trans woman, tragic trans woman, transition treated as death, trans woman abandons her wife and children to transition and trans woman described as half man/half woman.”
Emilia Pérez launches in a year with powerful trans stories in films
I Saw The TV Glow offers a deeper look into the trans experience
2024 saw the release of several other impactful and celebrated films centered on trans narratives, including I saw the TV glow and The People’s Joker. While the latter likely won’t receive the same awards season attention as the former, both films are more nuanced and progressive works of trans art, told from trans perspectives and filmmakers. That’s it It doesn’t mean that a cis person like Audiard can’t make films about trans themes and characters, but the criticisms about Emilia Pérez It is crucial to consider the superficiality and lack of understanding regarding these matters. Critics argue that I saw the TV glow offers a much more intentional and beneficial look at the trans experience than Emilia Pérez he does.
There are some progressive conclusions from Emilia Pérezhowever. Emilia’s impact on her community can be seen as a symbol of the impact she is silently making as a trans woman. As Rita explains to Dr. Wasserman in the song “Lady,” “changing the soul changes society”, which is effectively what Emilia did for the missing persons issue. Emilia does not defend her most immediate cause, trans equalityand instead remains silent about her transition and true identity to go into hiding as the criminal Manitas. Openly advocating for trans rights and equality would risk blowing her cover, so finding another cause to become the face of was her way of quietly honoring her more immediate community.
Emilia Pérez can still break some barriers
Gascón is currently projected to receive a Best Actress nomination
In order not to excuse the above-mentioned issues with Emilia Pérezthe film still has the potential to be a significant milestone for trans representation in cinema. Gascón could very well become the first trans actress to receive an Oscar nomination. She is currently listed on Variety the top 5 candidates for Best Actress alongside Mikey Madison by anoraAngelina Jolie by MariaCynthia Erivo by Eviland Tilda Swinton for The room next door. While it wouldn’t erase the character’s or the film’s flaws, it would undoubtedly mark a cinematic milestone.
Despite the mentioned pitfalls, Emilia Pérez still has a lot to offer as a robust and bold musical-thriller hybrid that demands progress on a number of important social issues, especially those found in the Latino community. While flawed in its representation of the trans community and its harmful reinforcement of trans narrative tropes, Emilia Pérez It could still become a monumental film by being successful at the 2025 Oscars, where Gascón could make history.
Sources: Vulture, The Cut, Autostraddle, Variety