Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Nov 4, 2024
Table of Contents
There are a lot of things that are tough to sell in movies. Genre blending can be one, in an age of huge concept films and sequel-mania aimed at setting audience expectations in stone and luring in as many people as possible. Queer stories are another, given the chasm between the far ends of the spectrum of social beliefs in this country. Musicals feel impossible to pull off, begging the question why you would turn a comic book villain sequel into one, but it also doesn’t help that distributors will do any- and everything to hide the fact an upcoming film is in fact a musical in all of its marketing. On top of all that, foreign language films historically don’t do as well as others in the American market, save for a few spectacular outliers.
Needless to say, Jacques Audiard faced an uphill battle selling ‘Emilia Pérez’, a Spanish musical thriller about a lawyer who helps a drug lord leave the life of crime by way of faking one’s death, and transitioning into living as a woman and the person she’s always wanted to be. Bigots have had much to say about this movie, none of it being positive, which is a crying shame. The three leads played by Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez are all spectacular in their roles, earning them all Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival where the movie premiered, on top of its Jury Prize. Every detail on screen is so considered and careful, constructing a beautiful but often brutal world for our heroines to overcome. With a slew of other accolades bolstering its cinematic value, ‘Emilia Pérez’ hits Netflix this November, where it will surely make a splash.
In Mexico City, lawyer Rita Moro Castro (Saldana) is frustrated and being overworked at a law firm better equipped at getting rich guys out of prison than actually serving justice. After winning yet another rotten case, she receives a phone call from an unknown voice, making an offer she can’t refuse. One bag over her head and long jeep ride later, she’s sitting in front of feared cartel lord Manitas Del Monte (Gascón), who tasks her with helping him disappear so that he can pursue the life he always dreamed: to finish his transition and live life as a woman. In return, gob of money to get out of her dead end career. One would be forgiven for thinking this was the hard part, but years later, Rita runs into a woman named Emilia Pérez, who she quickly realizes was once Manitas. Emilia now wants to reconnect with her estranged wife Jessi (Gomez) and their children under the guise of a long-lost relative, all the while attempting to undo the damage wreaked by Mantias years prior. Jessi, however, has her own plans pushing her to return to Mexico, and Rita gets stuck in the center of a web of lies, hypocrisy, and impossible odds.
Gascón, Saldana, and Gomez all play characters with unique innate strength and desires, but they’re all united by the need to live as themselves. Emilia escapes her life and family to discover her true self, but in so doing realizes she can’t live without her kids. She goes to every length to reconnect with them, even if it means lying to her family. Rita seeks fulfillment in her career and work, but can’t seem to get behind a cause she believes in. The law firm she starts working at only exists to get guilty rich guys off, working for a drug lord comes with an inordinate amount of baggage, even the org she and Emilia found is funded by dirty money thanks to Emilia’s outdated rolodex. Audiences will be able to relate to her struggle with work eating away at her life. Jessi, having been in a state of limbo and exiled to Switzerland under false pretenses between Manitas’ death and this mysterious Emilia inviting her back to Mexico, is tired of existing only as she relates to others: a mom, a widow, an in-law. She wants to make choices for herself, maybe for the first time ever. This uniting theme manifests in such different ways for each of these characters, but one can find something of themselves in each. This is no flat story of female rage or ambition; it runs so, so much deeper. Stories about transgender characters tend to focus on living as one’s true self, but that theme is not limited to just Emilia. And ‘Emilia Pérez’ is all the better for it.
‘Emilia Pérez’ is the full package. The music by Camille and Clément Ducol brings the story to life, nailing the conventions of a typical musical while amplifying the thrilling plot, with a little comedy and absurdity thrown in to spice things up. Though originally intended to film in Mexico, Audiard does a phenomenal job reconstructing the atmosphere and vibe of every location on soundstages in France, and capturing the story in a way that felt so real and grounded. The costuming was luscious and wonderful, in no small part thanks to Saint Laurent’s involvement via their production company (which was involved with two other Cannes films this year), and some obvious but tasteful product placement. Every choice for every character by costume designer Virginie Montel felt natural and a part of the world. Plus, everyone walking out of the theater wanted Rita’s red velvet suit. Choreography is a huge part of musical storytelling, and Damien Jalet conveys rage and emotion and chaos with control and love of the craft in his work.
There is no doubt in my mind that ‘Emilia Pérez’ will cause a stir with wider audiences. The festival-going crowd either loves it or hates it, but this story has so much to contribute to the world of cinema and how queer stories are told. To tell a story of this magnitude with ambiguously good and bad characters without demonizing or alienating anyone is a true feat of storytelling. It’s my sincere hope that ‘Emilia Pérez’ and its lead actresses continue to barrel through this awards season, and that the fire they started in the festival circuit breaks containment and lights up the whole world.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Limited Time Offer: Join for FREE today and get unlimited
The Hollywood Insider is against gossip and scandal, fully focused on substance & meaningful entertainment.
We choose quality over quantity, compassion over oppression, wisdom over intelligence.
Newsletter Subscription
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
