Zoe Saldaña. Karla Sofía Gascón. Selena Gomez.
The three women are at the heart of “Emilia Pérez,” Jacques Audiard’s singular Spanish-language crime drama musical that chronicles Mexican cartel leader Juan “Manitas” Del Monte’s transitional journey to realizing her true identity as a woman: the eponymous Emilia Pérez.
The trio play vastly different characters whose lives become inextricably intertwined: Saldaña as the under-appreciated defense lawyer, Rita, hired to shepherd the transition; Gascón as the drug kingpin, Manitas, who abandons a life of violence in an attempt at a new beginning as Emilia; and Gomez as the kingpin’s unhappy, powerless wife, Jessi.
“Emilia Pérez” challenges convention and defies expectations, turning a spotlight on marginalized communities and exploring themes of self-identity, transformation and rebirth.