Emilia Pérez

You’ve never seen a film like Emilia Pérez: the bloody violence of a Mexican drug cartel combined with a gender-identify crises and presented as a musical. All that sounds like a lot or maybe even too much, but here’s what: it is a truly captivating, never boring, always engrossing, and utterly unique look at how humans craft self - and how even a carefully nurtured exterior can never truly change an inherent nature. As the drug lord, Manitas (and later the titular human rights champion), Karla Sofía Gascón is a marvel of conflict, grief, triumph, and heart, providing a truly revolutionary performance of vulnerability and confidence, drenched in the blood of conflict. Equally impressive is Zoe Saldaña as Rita - singing, dancing, suffering, and succeeding as the disillusioned lawyer who agrees to help Manitas in exchange for her own transformation into wealth. There is so much more to say (for example, the clever use of choreographed assault weapons to create rhythm), but To say too much more might spoil the film, so I’ll just encourage you to carve out the time to watch. Emilia Pérez is already one of the most lauded films of 2024: numerous awards at Cannes (including a collective Best Actress prize for the four leading ladies - in addition to Gascón and Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz are both outstanding as the two objects of affection for Manitas/Emilia), 10 Golden Globe nominations, and Oscar nominations certainly waiting on the horizon.