Original movie musical EMILIA PEREZ starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez wins three prizes at Cannes- Page 2

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 12:40pm

I finally watched this; today. Every time I found myself starting to kind of enjoy it, they threw in some of the worst music I’ve ever heard in a musical and just ruined it for me. I realized that this must be how straight people feel watching musicals.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 12:49pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I finally watched this; today. Every time I found myself starting to kind of enjoy it, they threw insome of the worst music I’ve ever heard in a musical and just ruined it for me. I realized that this must be how straight people feel watching musicals."

It's a really good thriller and a really bad musical, imo. I wish it hadn't been a musical.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 1:36pm

For those who care about such things, the Golden Globes are tonight and Emilia Pérez and Wicked will be competing in many of the same categories, and a lot of them feel wide open.

I'm predicting Zoe Saldaña to win Supporting Actress, but it would be a classic Globes move to give it to Ariana Grande. I think Mikey Madison will take Actress in a Comedy for Anora over Erivo and Gascon, and Wicked is currently my prediction for Best Comedy/Musical as well as the stupid Box Office award.

[someoneinatree2]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 1:48pm

I definitely see Wicked winning the Box Office award, but I wouldn't be surprised if this film ends up taking the Best Musical/Comedy category. After getting tons of spots on the BAFTA longlists yesterday as well as more nominations at the Globes, it feels like Emilia is the favored musical for the European voters this year, with Wicked doing much better with awards here in the US so far.

As for the film…I just spent much of the runtime wondering why they wanted to make this a musical. Found myself frequently mystified by the way they chose to make this story sing. There are twinkling moments of brilliance: Saldaña raising a rage-fueled toast in "El Mal", the whispers of a grieving son blossoming into a lullaby, or even the times when the rhythm of loading guns and traffic noise is simply allowed to seep into focus.

If they really leaned in, maaaan this could’ve been a walloping rock opera, a modern Evita or Jesus Christ Superstar. Or it could have gone the Kander & Ebb route, stepping out of reality to sing about society or comment on the story. Instead we get a dash of this and that, ending up with a film that doesn't have a strong grasp on what the songs are here to do. Some plop timidly into the plot, most cut away suddenly to the next scene, ripped off the vine before any of the ideas have a chance to mature into something meaningful.

It often felt like the musicalization was thought of as a standalone effect, like toggling color filters or slow-motion on and off, rather than a wet ingredient that chemically changes the structure of the story's batter. When your characters first start to sing (especially when they start to sing sincerely), it changes the rules of reality for the audience. It changes how they're being asked to pay attention, and it's best when the music is then allowed to communicate throughout. It should work its way into our bones and shift our perspective and transform the story in a way nothing else can. Otherwise, it's like using a sparkler to make s'mores: a brazen approach, but why?

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 2:09pm

Jacques Audiard has addressed this, admitting he's not the biggest fan of musicals (preferring opera) even though he has wanted to make one for a while. It seems he wanted to challenge himself to make the sort of musical he'd like to watch.

In another interview, he said he was inspired to make it a musical because he thought his original treatment for the movie felt structurally more like an operetta libretto than a screenplay.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 9:56pm

In a perfect world, Saldaña makes her Broadway debut in about 2-3 years. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 10:34pm

Emilia Pérez Golden Globe wins so far:

Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role -Zoe Saldaña

Best Original Song, Motion Picture - El Mal 

 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 11:12pm

Melissa25 said: "Emilia PérezGoldenGlobe wins so far:

Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role -ZoeSaldaña

Best Original Song, Motion Picture - El Mal

And now it won Best Comedy/Musical!

"

 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 11:40pm

How far we've fallen.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 12:57pm

The Awards Season Villain this year. A movie nobody seems to like yet continues to rack up the awards. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 1:08pm

^ That is exactly how I feel about this mess of a film. 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 6:57pm

Georgeanddot2 said: "How far we've fallen."

Are you a child? 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 7:00pm

TheQuibbler said: "The Awards Season Villainthis year. A movie nobody seems to like yet continues to rack up the awards."

There are plenty of people who like this movie. Plenty who love it. You and the Broadway World Hate Club speak for yourselves only. Not everybody. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 9:20pm

In the battle of movie musicals, it's ironic that ''Emilia Perez'' won the top prize over ''Wicked,'' the more ''Popular'' movie. At Rotten Tomatoes.com, ''Wicked'' got a 88% score from critics and 96% from audiences. By contrast, ''Emilia'' got only a 76% from critics and 65% from audiences.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 10:13pm

Matt Rogers said: "TheQuibbler said: "The Awards Season Villainthis year. A movie nobody seems to like yet continues to rack up the awards."

There are plenty of people who like this movie. Plenty who love it. You and the Broadway World Hate Club speak for yourselves only. Not everybody."

 

We like it a lot so did our friends. It will get a Best Picture nominee and many others when announced next week!

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 1/6/25 at 10:24pm

While I enjoyed Wicked more than I thought I would, it has no hope of winning any major awards. 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 1/7/25 at 6:11pm

Wayman_Wong said: "In the battle of movie musicals,it's ironic that ''Emilia Perez'' won the top prize over ''Wicked,'' the more ''Popular'' movie. At Rotten Tomatoes.com, ''Wicked'' got a 88% score from critics and 96% from audiences. By contrast, ''Emilia'' got only a 76% from critics and 65% from audiences."

You’re not really surprised by the Tomatoes contrast between Wicked and Emilia, are you? One is a family friendly adaptation of a smash Broadway musical and the other is an original musical about a Mexican cartel leader who becomes trans, in a foreign language. 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 1/7/25 at 6:48pm

rosscoe(au) said: "While I enjoyed Wicked more than I thought I would, it has no hope of winning any major awards."

And the more people grasp this reality the easier award season will be. It's a beautifully inspiring film and a win for the community. But film standards are much higher. I could see wins for the tech design,  costume and hair elements. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/7/25 at 7:07pm

Ensemble1698878795 said: "rosscoe(au) said: "While I enjoyed Wicked more than I thought I would, it has no hope of winning any major awards."

And the more people grasp this reality the easier award season will be. It's a beautifully inspiring film and a win for the community. But film standards are much higher. I could see wins for the tech design, costume and hair elements."

 

Shhhhh. They’re not ready to hear this yet.

 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/7/25 at 10:23pm

I'm coming up on my 20th year following the Oscars (my GOD!) and the need for there to be a designated Oscar Villain is one of my least favorite parts of the business. Granted, I like Emilia Pérez quite a bit but I do think it has flaws, and it's definitely not the place for a cishet white American man like me to tell a trans person, a Mexican person, etc that they're wrong to take offense at how a movie by a cishet French man portrayed their culture. That said, when it gets to the point we're at when its critics are acting like it's some sort of moral obligation to get mad at the movie for its awards success is when I start to tune it all out.

Can we at least collectively agree that Zoe Saldaña deserves all of the praise she's been getting? Hers is the sort of performance that makes you angry people haven't been writing her parts that good all along.

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/8/25 at 7:57am

**Bit of a SPOILER, perhaps**

Did you buy for half a second that Selena Gomez's character would not have known who Emilia was?

[Melissa25]

Posted: 1/8/25 at 9:16am

KevinKlawitter: Can we at least collectively agree that Zoe Saldaña deserves all of the praise she's been getting?

Yes, I completely agree with you about Zoe.  I also keep dreaming about wearing a red velvet suit for some reason. 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 1/8/25 at 9:40am

KevinKlawitter said: "That said, when it gets to the point we're at when its critics are acting like it's some sort of moral obligation to get mad at the movie for its awards success is when I start to tune it all out.”

I personally don’t even hate the movie, but I think it misses the mark in a few key areas despite having ambition and a quartet of strong central performances. My Oscar Villain comment was more about how many people (this is to say, critics and film commentators, as well as its decently low 2.9 out of 5 user rating on Letterboxd; on top of hearing very nuanced critiques from the various folks the film says it’s about) just don’t seem particularly excited about it. It seems like this is the film this year that coasts by on nominations and wins without a ton a passion behind it. Especially since the last two years of winners, Oppenheimer and Everything Everywhere All At Once, both had financial success and a lot of admiration from critics and audiences alike. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 1/9/25 at 12:41am

This was very hit-and-miss to me, some occasional flashes of brilliance balanced out by some big-time misfires. The “thriller” def outshines the “musical” elements. 

“Bienvenida” is one of the worst songs I have heard in any genre in quite some time. Conversely, I quite liked “Mi Camino” on first listen and the more I hear “El Mal,” the more I get into it. (It sounds a bit like a Spanish, head-banging response to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.” ) And “La Vaginoplastia” has become an instant guilty pleasure. 

I loved Saldaña here and the Oscar should probably be hers. I didn’t really buy into Gomez’s performance though… 

 

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I too couldn’t believe she never realized until late that Emilia used to be her husband.

Definitely not the worst movie musical I’ve ever seen, but I don’t understand all the hype. 

 

 

Updated On: 1/9/25 at 12:41 AM

[luvbrdway]

Posted: 1/10/25 at 12:50am

It’s billed as a crime musical comedy. I enjoy crime shows, enjoy comedy, love musicals, so I was excited. OMG, a comedy? I never even smiled. Musical? I thought the songs were very forgettable. Crime, yep, there was a lot of that. But just when I would get interested, it went off on some weird tangent. I finally turned it off and looked on Wikipedia to see how it ended. I really hated it. The acting was good, but no way in hell is it the best movie of the year. Not even close. Might be the worst movie I’ve ever seen. Well, Pirates of the Caribbean III was pretty bad.