Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of October 28, 2024
Emilia Pérez
Rated R for some violent content, sexual material and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
In Select Theaters Now and Streaming on Netflix on November 13
From the brilliant mind of French auteur Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) comes this audacious musical which follows a young defense attorney in Mexico City (Zoe Saldana) whose success catches the attention of a cartel leader (Karla Sofia Gascon) who wishes to hire her to help him fake his death so that so that he can leave the criminal world and live his most authentic life. But that loss comes with baggage in the form of his wife he must leave behind (Selena Gomez). There’s a lot more to the story than this and if you don’t try to find out more, you will appreciate it, as you want to be surprised here. The film is absolutely bonkers, but in a good way. The true storyline is crazy yet extremely creative and it is pulled off with precision from an amazing international production team. Because the musical numbers are largely in Spanish, it won’t be one most of us will leave the theater humming, but they are still effective and the choreography is both fascinating and fantastic. With so many of these elements of this film working so well, the glue that makes it all stick are the amazing performances by its leading ladies. At Cannes this year, they gave the best actress award to not one actress, but to the ensemble. This has never happened before, but it is telling for how powerful these women are together. The actresses work as one to weave a phenomenal tale where you never know what will happen next and frankly, you don’t try to guess because you are so intrigued by the journey. It is scary, moving, weird, emotional, sad, and uplifting, putting you in so many different moods in so many different moments. Will some folks find it to be a little too much for them? Of course they will. Especially considering today’s political climate and the vitriol being spewed by a large segment of the population. But it doesn’t make this film any less important, and it will be that much more impactful when awards are being discussed about what could become a very controversial film. But for now, I must just recommend that you go into it as empty as you can and take your open mind with you. It will thank you later. A