The musical film Emilia Pérez follows the story of a Mexican lawyer tasked with an unusual job: helping a notorious cartel boss retire and transition into living as a woman. The movie explores themes such as transformation, self-discovery, and acceptance.
Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, the highly anticipated film premiered in theaters on Nov. 1, 2024, and stars an impressive cast, including Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez.
Emilia Pérez has captured the attention of movie critics everywhere, securing 11 BAFTA nominations and taking home four Golden Globe Awards. As if that wasn’t enough, the film has earned 13 Oscar nominations, the highest of any film this year. Wicked and The Brutalist follow closely behind, each boasting 10 nominations.
However, the critically acclaimed film failed to win over many movie fans, with a mere 2.1 out of five stars on Letterboxd and a bleak 16% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcorn Meter.
Film fans have taken to social media platforms to express their disappointment and shock that Emilia Pérez received this many nominations. Some viewers have criticized the film for its portrayal of trans women and for reinforcing harmful Mexican stereotypes, including a lack of appropriate representation, as the film was nearly void of Hispanic actors and directed by a European man.
Fan Reactions
Tik Tok
User @vetzmovies posted a video explaining the plot of Emilia Pérez with the text, “Worst Oscar Nomination Ever?” The creator of this clip argues that the only deserving Oscar nomination for the film is Zoe Saldana for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, claiming that all other nominations are undeserved. The video received over 81,600 likes.
“This movie is a complete dumpster fire,” @vetzmovies said in the video. “It feels like a movie specifically made to win an Oscar because, yes, it’s tackling important issues in our society, but it does it in the most dumb and simple way imaginable.”
TikTok user @paytonthemeerkatninja expressed their frustration with the movie’s perceived depth, commenting, “I swear I’d be a millionaire if I had a dollar for every time the Academy thought nominating a movie like this would make them look progressive.” In response, user @jzm4848 added, “And if you’re Mexican, or just fluent in Spanish, this movie is even worse,” a comment that quickly racked up over 15,000 likes.
Letterboxd
Letterboxd user @schaffrillas posted a review of Emilia Pérez, saying, “Impressive! A musical with zero good songs! If Selena Gomez gets nominated for an Oscar for this performance I am keying the Academy’s cars.” This review received 35,335 likes as of Feb. 20.
Good news for @schaffrillas — Selena Gomez wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.
Letterboxd user @comrade_yui also posted a review of Emilia Pérez, criticizing the film for misrepresenting trans women’s experiences and giving it a 1/2 star rating out of five.
“So alienated from the experience of lived trans identity that it gets many basic facts wrong, stuff that any trans person could tell you about,” @comrade_yui wrote. “Liberal-centrists can seemingly only understand queerness as ‘the exceptional’ to their ‘normality,’ so they make a hyperbolic spectacle out of us and then go on to say that it’s good optics, that it’s ‘representation,’ when in fact it is abstraction and dehumanization.”
The post, which has received 20,766 likes as of Feb. 20, concludes after a 286-word critique with the following: “a perfect film for awards season.”
Final Thoughts
While critics have dazzled the film, reviews point to a failure to resonate with movie fans. The movie’s handling of sensitive themes, such as gender transformation and cultural representation, has drawn sharp criticism, particularly regarding Emilia Pérez‘s portrayal of trans women and the reinforcement of Mexican stereotypes that further enable prejudice and racism.
However, some people hope the film may still serve as a stepping stone for future films that aim to address sensitive topics. While its execution has faced scrutiny, the film’s aim to tackle issues like gender identity and societal norms opens the door for more nuanced and thoughtful storytelling in the future.