Netflix steps into and beyond the musical genre with Emilia Pérez, a movie that manages to combine crime thriller, melodrama, and emotional pop ballads into one cohesive narrative. From the visionary mind of Jacques Audiard, the story follows a powerful drug lord, Manitas, who hires a brilliant lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) as part of the transition process to becoming a new woman named Emilia Pérez. Karla Sofía Gascón plays the role with an exterior calm that skillfully suppresses the storm raging within as Emilia seeks redemption for the harm Manitas has caused 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 gets at least one moment in the musical spotlight, the beating heart of the new Netflix movie lies in its questions about identity, forgiveness, and the forgotten victims of systemic inequality. Though the setting is Mexico and the specificity of the story is one of its main strengths, the lessons it imparts can be applied anywhere in the world.
Emilia Pérez is a narco crime saga, melodrama, and pop-opera all in one, affecting and thrilling as it teeters between chaos and control.
ScreenRant interviewed Gascón about how Audiard went the extra step to help her prepare for Emilia Pérez, which of the songs were the most challenging to perform, and why her backstory for Manitas is a little different from the one laid out in the movie.
“It was more like an old-time radio drama where you already had sounds incorporated from Mexico…”
Screen Rant: I loved Emilia Pérez. It was such an amazing movie and a whole experience sitting in that theater. Which makes me wonder, how was it presented to you when you spoke to Jacques about it? What did he tell you to really get you into this script?
Karla Sofía Gascón: I didn't need to be told much to be convinced, but I saw something that I hadn't seen before in film or movies. When I got the script, it was more like an old-time radio drama where you already had sounds incorporated from Mexico and all the factors that we actors needed to understand. For me, this is the most professional way to help the actors be able to dive in and to see what it is.
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 touching aspects of the story for me is how Emilia goes from having participated in the disappearance of so many people to championing their return, finding them for their families and bringing them peace. Can you talk about the emotional development she goes through?
Karla Sofía Gascón: For me, the important aspect here is redemption, because as humans we try to repair harm and mistakes done. But my way to work towards this is that I decided Manitas didn't do it himself. I was pretending to commit all those crimes, and others were doing it for him. Otherwise, I couldn't see him earning all the love that he got. We cannot change the past, but what we can do is change what we do now to be better.
Screen Rant: I thought the songs were so fascinating because they're really about the emotion of the moment and not hitting certain notes. It's very different from a usual musical. Which song was the most challenging or the most exciting for you to perform?
Karla Sofía Gascón: Well, they were all a challenge for me because I'm really not a singer. It's not my thing. But emotionally, the toughest was one of the first ones, which I sang on the piano, "Deseo." But the most complex one was [half Manitas, half Emilia], where I had to sing in a much higher pitch. That was harder. But the most fun was the first one; the rap song. That's what defines the character.
More About Emilia Pérez (2024)
From renegade auteur 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 pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the double Cannes-winning film also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez.
Check back soon for our other Emilia Pérez interviews here:
Zoe Saldaña & Selena Gomez
Edgar Ramírez
Adriana Paz
Emilia Pérez
is currently playing in select theaters and begins streaming November 13 on Netflix.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Emilia Perez is a drama film that follows the life of Emilia Perez, a determined and ambitious individual striving to make a name for herself in a competitive environment. The story explores her journey as she navigates the challenges and obstacles that come her way, all while uncovering the complexities of her own identity.
Director Jacques Audiard
Release Date November 13, 2024
Studio(s) Why Not Productions , Saint Laurent , Page 114 , Pathé , France 2 Cinéma , LPI Media , Pimienta Films , The Veterans
Writers Jacques Audiard , Thomas Bidegain , Léa Mysius
Cast Karla Sofía Gascón , Zoe Saldana , Selena Gomez , Adriana Paz , Edgar Ramirez , Mark Ivanir , Eduardo Aladro , Emiliano Edmundo Hasan Jalil , James Gerard , Eric Geynes , Agathe Bokja , Chun-Ting Lin , Stéphane Ly-Cuong , Line Phé , Pascal Toussirot , Karla Lazo
Character(s) Emilia / Manitas , Rita , Jessi , Epifania , Gustavo Brun , Wasserman , Berlinger , Gabriel Mendoza , London City Boy , Thai nurse , Medical Staff , Thai Surgeon
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English (US) ·