It is not an understatement to say that the recent Netflix musical, Emilia Pérez, is very dangerous and terrible for trans representation.

Let me honest in saying that I did not plan to write an official review of the film. My initial plan was just to participate in a roundtable interview with filmmaker Jacques Audiard and let it be. With numerous Best Picture nominations from critics groups that are predominantly cisgender, I can no longer be silent in my role as a transgender film critic. I have a responsibility to raise my voice about the dangers of the film. I loathed this film with every fiber of my being. In complete transparency, I attended the freezing Los Angeles premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood. The screening was on the same night as a special screening of October H8te elsewhere in town. I resonated so much with October H8te that it would have been a better use of my time.

Audiard is nowhere close to being the right filmmaker in telling this story. Even as I am currently not talking with a number of former trans friends due to their antisemitism, such films need to be told by transgender filmmakers. The fact that GLAAD did not consult on the film is telling enough. Filmmakers should not be making films with a transgender storyline without running the script by GLAAD. They would have told you the same thing that I’m telling you right now. This is a terrible film. The best part of the film for me? Seeing the words TEL AVIV flash on the screen! Many antisemites may have even turned the film off at that point. Anyway, it is a dangerous film because of the storyline!

When we first meet Mexican cartel kingpin Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón), it is pre-transition while she is still presenting as male. The fact that she was already on hormones at this time begs the question of why does she still have a beard and why didn’t she already start on the laser hair removal or electrolysis process. Anyway, she hires attorney Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldaña) to both fake her death and hire a gender-affirming surgeon. Rita travels to the likes of Thailand and Israel in search of finding the right surgeon. Unfortunately, it also means having to listen to some of the most tasteless songs in cinematic history. Seriously.

It’s bad enough that Emilia fakes her death but she leaves her wife and children behind. When the kingpin comes back in Rita’s life four years later, it’s clear that nothing has changed aside from her presentation. Here’s the thing about any trans person in a marriage prior to transitioning: they fight to keep their marriage or it ends in divorce. Unfortunately, Emilia doesn’t even put up a fight. When she sees Rita four years later, she’s finally come to her senses by having Rita bring Jessi (Selena Gomez) and their children to Emilia’s current home. Why did this not happen years earlier? Why did Emilia not even bother having the conversation with Jessi? None of them can figure out that Emilia was the same person they were living with just four years earlier. One kid realizes they have the same smell but still.

I will say that it’s nice to see Selena Gomez grow continue to mature and evolve from her Disney Channel image. She has a moment to shine in a musical sequence. It’s unlike any of her acting on Wizards of Waverly Place or Only Murders in the Building. Zoe Saldaña gets a chance to show that she’s more than an action star by singing and dancing. Karla Sofía Gascón could very well become the first trans actress to earn an Oscar nomination. I only wish that it would be for a film that is not dangerous for trans representation, let alone trans rights. There is no doubt that there are trans people with flaws–trust me when I say that this transgender Jew is no longer safe or welcome in a number of trans places–but this is not the film to be championed.

Are cisgender critics praising this film so that they don’t get accused of transphobia? I don’t know. Of course, I haven’t broached the subject with many colleagues. I just know that way too many of them are praising a film that is not sitting well with many transgender critics, myself included. This is not a film that I can recommend in any way. It’s a step back for Netflix after the likes of Will & Harper and Disclosure.

I’m aware that there are also issues with the film’s Mexican representation. However, I am approaching the film strictly through its transgender representation. I also understand that there are people championing the film because of the Latin representation. This does not change the fact that the trans representation is among the worst that I’ve ever seen.

No amount of acting, dancing, or singing on screen will make up for the fact that Emilia Pérez is dangerous for transgender representation.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Jacques Audiard
CAST: Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramírez

Netflix released Emilia Pérez in theaters on November 1, 2024 and streaming on November 13, 2024. Grade: 1/5

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