Emilia Perez: Impressively Abysmal

Ridiculous and a genuine pain to sit through, Emilia Perez attempts to tell a courageous story of gender dysphoria, but falls flat in an off-key musical mess.

Rating: 3.6/10

Highlights

• Saldana performs well

• Unique storyline

• Attempted to share diverse perspectives

Lowlights

• Distractingly ridiculous musical numbers

• Storyline felt disingenuous 

• Low point of Saldana's career

Emilia Perez wants to be Hamilton, Lin Manuel-Miranda's hit Broadway musical that tells the story of the founding of America through rap and an all-POC cast, so badly. But why? Telling diverse stories is important and good, but Emilia Perez tried too hard to do too much. There was no need for the film to be a musical, and the numbers were often distracting and sometimes laughably ridiculous. Admittedly, there were some positive moments — the cinematography was creative, and inventive choices with lighting added artistic appeal — but overall, the film was a complete flop. I appreciated the dedication to a unique storyline, but it strained to provide any of the impact it so clearly desired to make. In the end, Emilia Perez's legacy will be not an emotionally impactful telling of a story about a Mexican transgender drug lord and her family, but the Academy's single-most confounding and misguided choice for leading film nominations ahead of the ceremony. 

Liked Emilia Perez? Wrong answer. Go watch Hamilton if you want an inspiring musical story of resilience and emotional strength. 

Watch the trailer!