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Chris Gore reviews “Emilia Pérez,” now playing on Netflix.
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0:03
I need to tell you about Amelia Perez
0:06
perhaps the strangest
0:09
film that I've seen this year a
0:13
combination of things that should not go
0:17
together but actually kind of works on
0:20
one level that blew my
0:24
mind it stars Zoe
0:28
Sana and Carla Sophia gascon who is a
0:32
trans male to female trans person who
0:37
plays the Title Character uh Zoe salana
0:40
plays Rita uh Mora Castro she is an
0:44
attorney now how is she involved in this
0:47
this is one part
0:49
Thriller one part
0:52
musical an experimental
0:55
film involving a trans character but
1:00
being trans is really not a big part of
1:02
the story and let me explain the story
1:05
is
1:06
this Amilia Perez as played by Carla
1:09
Sophia gascan is a drug dealer in
1:14
Mexico that has gotten In Too Deep this
1:17
he's a cart he is a cartel
1:20
boss and a a tough grizzled drug dealer
1:24
that wants to get out of the
1:27
game with the intention of protecting in
1:30
his family creating a new life and going
1:34
from this I mean very masculine looking
1:38
Mexican
1:39
man and becoming trans as a
1:43
way to change his identity completely
1:48
become a woman and be able to have a
1:50
life outside of the world of the drug
1:53
cartels so he basically fakes his own
1:58
death
2:00
becomes trans a feminine from male to
2:03
female and Zoe salon's character is the
2:07
one that she gets paid a chunk of money
2:09
to hide his identity get him declared
2:13
dead and take care of his financial
2:16
business so that he can basically escape
2:18
with his money his family survives and
2:22
he can create a new life as Amelia Perez
2:27
a affluent woman
2:31
years later you're not gonna believe
2:33
this story and then years later Amelia
2:37
Perez reconnects with his
2:40
ex-wife and children as a woman who they
2:44
don't recognize because the the
2:48
transition is so profoundly different
2:51
than who he was as a a very tough
2:54
masculine drug dealer and then gets
2:56
involved in their lives and it is so
2:59
it's like a weird tension that's part
3:01
Mrs Doubtfire if it were a
3:04
thriller where he's having discussions
3:06
with his wife his wife is now um
3:09
involved with another man what what
3:11
happened maybe in their marriage that he
3:14
that Amilia Perez did not know about
3:16
dealing with his children and the
3:18
sadness of dealing with his kids he
3:20
can't say who he really is and it's a
3:23
musical now if this sounds like the
3:25
weirdest description for a movie you've
3:27
ever heard yeah it is it's directed by
3:30
uh jacqu odier and it is wild I didn't
3:35
quite love the musical aspect didn't
3:37
quite work for me there's a whole
3:39
musical number at the trans Clinic that
3:41
is
3:42
bizarre but it's not pushing some trans
3:46
agenda it's a a way to tell the story
3:49
where he basically fakes his own death
3:52
becomes a woman and then reconnects with
3:55
his his loved ones and Zoe sana's kind
3:58
of her character
4:00
Rita Castro is caught in the middle as
4:02
the attorney and who becomes a friend to
4:05
Amelia and it goes off the rails in the
4:10
end in the third act I won't say what
4:12
but it becomes like a crime like a total
4:15
crime Thriller drama that is like you're
4:18
on the edge of your seat I with music
4:22
what's that with music okay so
4:27
look this come it's like saying hey if
4:30
you mix you know it's like a salted
4:33
caramel on its face you're like well why
4:36
would I put salt on caramel that's
4:38
disgusting but it works in this it works
4:42
the musical stuff didn't really work for
4:44
me the drama of him as this I mean
4:48
there's scenes you're on the edge of
4:49
your seat with what the with the um the
4:51
tension because we know the audience
4:55
knows this was the drug dealer who's now
4:58
an affluent woman this movie also very
5:03
likely to get a lot of Oscar Noms
5:05
including for Carla sovia gascan who is
5:09
Trans in real life I for what category I
5:13
don't
5:14
know it's not for me to
5:17
decide but more than likely you will see
5:20
Carlo Sophia gasan nominated I don't
5:23
know for actress or actor could go
5:26
either way but is it is the most bizarre
5:30
wild can't believe look as much as I I'm
5:34
not like I'm not going to give this a
5:36
Hu a review is like the best movie of
5:39
the year that I can recommend everybody
5:41
it's an acquired taste but the the the
5:45
tension scenes are amazing like I said
5:48
like Mrs Doubtfire if it were a a
5:51
hardcore violent a very violent Mafia
5:56
Thriller does that make sense Mrs dfer
5:59
so so I'm giving it a recommend with a
6:02
warning so probably a seven out of 10
6:05
for me but a recommend with a warning
6:07
and watch this get a lot of attention
6:10
around awards season
6:14
so make of it what you will but I I will
6:17
say I gotta give Carla sopia
6:20
gascan kudos for pulling this off
6:23
especially because I didn't know this
6:25
person was trans when I saw the movie so
6:27
the beginning of the movie you see this
6:29
like
6:30
tough drug dealer that's super manly and
6:33
and then goes through this
6:35
transformation that is amazing it's like
6:39
it reminds me of movies from the past
6:43
that dealt with trance issues but didn't
6:45
try to push an agenda it's part of the
6:48
story it's also the backdrop to the
6:51
story
6:53
so I I I I can't believe I'm sitting
6:55
here telling you I really enjoyed this
6:58
film one aspect so you do need to see it
7:02
Allan and yeah again a lot of people
7:05
will be turned off unfortunately but um
7:08
also the experimental nature I don't
7:10
think the musical aspect of it really
7:12
worked for me but the Thriller
7:15
aspect was great so if you take the
7:18
music out it's movie uh what could you
7:22
repeat that if you take all the music
7:25
out it's the same movie it like the
7:29
sense I got is they either threw in
7:31
dance numbers just to throw it in or or
7:34
you know if you do a musical generally
7:36
the song should be about the person's
7:39
emotions feelings the the wants and
7:41
struggles look I like I like things that
7:46
are um take risks I like you know we
7:50
talk about all the time Toy Story five
7:52
want to two yeah yeah you know what you
7:56
want something that swings for the
7:58
fences and and does something crazy this
8:02
film is it you want something different
8:05
this film is it you want something that
8:08
that takes a risk this film is it so
8:12
while you may not like it in the end you
8:14
want something that goes for it and does
8:16
something different that's this film so
8:18
I applaud this movie for that and it is
8:22
uh it's it's on Netflix it's on Netflix
8:25
now
8:26
so you know like I said check it out the
8:30
uh the the transformation of the lead
8:34
actor I don't I I honestly don't know
8:38
what
8:39
category this uh person will get
8:43
nominated I don't know I'm saying I
8:45
don't either way either way we'll be
8:46
talking about it we will be talking
8:48
about this movie through award season so
8:51
there you go so the question I have is
8:53
so the cartel leader uh went trans
8:56
because they were trans or went trans uh
8:58
to uh to change
9:01
identity or both a little bit of both
9:04
right a little bit of both but it's not
9:05
they don't harp on it it's not I'm
9:08
telling you it's a it's a device to tell
9:10
a story about like a m Doubtfire where
9:13
it's like yeah he wants to be with the
9:15
kids and yeah wants to be with the kids
9:18
wants to not be involved in in the drug
9:20
cartels anymore and found a way to
9:23
escape that was
9:25
extreme so that aspect of the movie
9:28
really worked
9:31
the musical aspect not so much
#Drama Films
#Musical Films
#Thriller, Crime & Mystery Films