On paper, the brief description ofEmilia Perez, the new Jacques Audiard who is competing for the Palme d’Or, had reason, if not to worry, at least to leave one doubtful. A musical film set in the criminal underworld of Mexico City starring Zoe Saldaña, star ofAvatar ? Not sure. An opening number later, time for the first real big shock of the competition. With crazy mastery, mind-blowing music and fabulous performances, the director ofa prophet tells the sung and danced destinies of a repentant trans drug trafficker and her lawyer ally.
The latter is named Rita, claims to have a heart of stone, and is played brilliantly by Zoe Saldaña, who easily finds here her best career score. A gifted lawyer but “capped” in a man’s world, Rita is recruited by Juan Del Monte, a formidable and extremely wealthy drug trafficker.
Now, in his entire being, Juan is really Emilia, Emilia Perez. And it’s only just beginning, as Emilia reveals herself to be the exact opposite of what she once was: after violence, benevolence, after crimes, reparation… But is redemption even possible?
One after the other with energy, audacity, and forceful ellipses, reversals and revelations worthy of a telenovela, author’s cinema version. It’s captivating, unpredictable, baroque, and furiously controlled.
There is something of Pedro Almodóvar in this ample and generous film, endowed with a skin-deep sensitivity, total empathy, fierce humor, and a sense of consummate tragedy.
Adjusted with a quarter turn
While certain themes may give the impression thatEmilia Perez is atypical in Audiard’s work, the criminal backdrop is in this case recurrent for the filmmaker (from Watch the men fall has The Beat That My Heart Skipped Passing by A very discreet hero And On my lips).
The form is in any case characteristic, that is to say dazzling: unpredictable but virtuoso camera, dreamlike and surreal flashes, shutter effects… The overall movement is like the choreographies which punctuate the film: adjusted at a quarter turn.
In this regard, the number taking place during a benefit dinner during which Zoe Saldaña’s character denounces the ambient hypocrisy in a sort of sung soliloquy, is absolutely galvanizing. Because she has rhythm and voice, the star of Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians of the Galaxy). After 25 years of career and numerous blockbusters, Saldaña is a revelation here.
Also included is trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón, who stars in the title role.
During the press screening, the subject seemed to upset some, who took the path of exit. Too bad ! A loving, but never complacent, ode to acceptance of oneself and others, Emilia Perez reminds us that it is always possible to reinvent yourself into a better person. This, whether you are trans or not.
A long quiet river
François Lévesque is in Cannes at the invitation of the festival and thanks to the support of Telefilm Canada.