Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez star in gory narco-musical Emilia Pérez — Cannes film review

Emilia Pérez is a soft-spoken, doting mother of two living a peaceful life in a plush suburb in Mexico. To say she didn’t start that way is to put it mildly. When we first glimpse her, not only is she he, that he is a hulking, heavily tattooed and deeply feared crime kingpin. Looking for an out, Juan “Manitas” Del Monte kidnaps defence lawyer Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldaña) and employs her to help him transition in more sense than one. Yes, this is a hard-boiled and bloody cartel thriller with a transgender twist. Oh, and it’s a musical.

If you’re picturing Sicario meets Singin’ in the Rain, you’re only half right. In fact, the song-and-dance style here is more Lin-Manuel Miranda than classic MGM, mixing modern musical idioms such as rap and reggaeton. Some numbers arise organically from the cadence of conversation; others begin with the percussive click-clack of assault rifles. The choreography is relatively restrained, the twirling kept to a minimum. This may be one of those musicals that appeals to those usually averse to the form.

Saldaña, whose Rita is our protagonist, does much of the hoofing and proves herself to the manner born, lending a burning intensity to Manitas’s right-hand woman and confidante. Less in the know is his wife and later (so she thinks) widow, Jessi, who is shipped off to Switzerland and then back again. Selena Gomez, stretching herself both in terms of material and by working almost entirely in Spanish, acquits herself well in an upgraded version of the usually thankless part of gangster’s moll. Meanwhile, Spanish actor Karla Sofía Gascón ranges from quiet menace to touching tenderness in the tricky dual role of Manitas/Emilia, who finds it is easier to change gender than change the past.

In many hands, this outlandish tale would have been rendered risible, but French auteur Jacques Audiard balances narrative audacity with emotional authenticity. Often when the pitch threatens to become too shrill, he dials the tone right down. It seems that there is no genre he can’t successfully turn his hand to, be it gritty neo-noir (The Beat That My Heart Skipped), comedy Western (The Sisters Brothers) or immigration drama (2015 Palme d’Or winner Dheepan). Only towards the end does his latest script revert to genre convention with an action-packed shootout and an explosive denouement that ties up loose plot strands in sudden death.

In an edition of Cannes that is so far short on consensus, Emilia Pérez may just win the favour of a competition jury led by Greta Gerwig, herself no stranger to genre-bending musicals that challenge gender roles. 

★★★★☆

Cannes Film Festival continues to May 25, festival-cannes.com