Netflix enters and goes beyond the music genre with Emilia Péreza film that manages to combine crime thriller, melodrama and emotional pop ballads into a cohesive narrative. From the visionary mind of Jacques Audiard, the story follows a powerful drug trafficker, Manitas, who hires a brilliant lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) as part of the transition process to become a new woman named Emilia Pérez. Karla Sofía Gascón plays the role with an outward calm that deftly suppresses the storm raging within as Emilia seeks redemption for the damage Manitas has caused to her community.
In addition to Gascón and Saldaña, Emilia Pérez also stars Selena Gomez as Manitas’ wife Jessi, who feels like a stranger in a strange land after her husband’s disappearance. Adriana Paz and Edgar Ramirez round out the main cast, and while each actor has at least one musical standout moment, the heart of the new Netflix film lies in questions about identity, forgiveness, and the forgotten victims of systemic inequality. Although the setting is Mexico and the specificity of the story is one of its main strengths, the lessons it conveys can be applied anywhere in the world.
TelaRant interviewed Gascón about how Audiard took the extra step to help her prepare for Emilia Pérezwhich of the songs were most challenging to perform and why her backstory for Manitas is a little different from that presented in the film.
“It was more like an old-time radio drama, where you already had built-in sounds from Mexico…”
Screen Rant: I loved it Emilia Pérez. It was an incredible film and a complete experience being in that cinema. Which makes me wonder: how was this presented to you when you spoke to Jacques about it? What did he say to make you really get into this script?
Karla Sofía Gascón: I didn’t need to be told much to convince me, but I saw something that I had never seen before in films or films. When I got the script, it was more like an old radio drama, where you already had sounds of Mexico built in and all the factors that we as actors needed to understand. To me, this is the most professional way to help actors dive in and see what it’s like.
Karla Sofía Gascón explains the journey from Manitas to Emilia Pérez
“For me, the important aspect here is redemption.”
Screen Rant: One of the most moving aspects of the story for me is how Emilia goes from having participated in the disappearance of so many people to advocating for their return, finding them their families and bringing them peace. Can you talk about the emotional development she goes through?
Karla Sofía Gascón: For me, the important thing here is redemption, because as humans we try to repair the damage and mistakes committed. But my way of working towards this is to decide that Manitas did not do this alone. I was pretending to commit all those crimes, and others were doing it for him. Otherwise, I couldn’t see it getting all the love it got. We can’t change the past, but what we can do is change what we do now to be better.
Screen Rant: I found the songs so fascinating because they’re really about the emotion of the moment and not hitting certain notes. It’s very different from a normal musical. Which song was the most challenging or most exciting for you to play?
Karla Sofía Gascón: Well, they were all a challenge for me because I’m not actually a singer. It’s not my thing. But emotionally, the most difficult was one of the first ones, which I sang on the piano, “Deseo”. But the most complex thing was [half Manitas, half Emilia]where I had to sing at a much higher pitch. That was more difficult. But the most fun was the first; rap music. This is what defines the character.
More about Emilia Pérez (2024)
From renegade author Jacques Audiard comes Emilia Pérez, an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each in search of their own happiness. Fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an underappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as herself. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the Cannes-winning double feature also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Édgar Ramírez.
Check back soon for our other Emilia Pérez interviews here:
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Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez
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Edgar Ramirez
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Adriana Paz
Source: Screen Rant Plus