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. “At its core, this film is about women,” Saldaña said via email. The people she and her costars play are “exceptional female characters each looking for their own version of freedom, their own version of happiness. They are complex and complicated and maybe don’t make the right decision every time, but are nonetheless deserving of their freedom, their truth, and control over their lives — just like all women are.”
For Gomez, the chance to play a messy, at times unsympathetic, character — in a musical, no less — was irresistible, no matter how many projects she is forever juggling. “I would give up everything for this movie,” she told TheWrap at the Toronto Film Festival in September. “I love to make people feel things. Whatever they interpret my performance as, I am. I want them to feel something.”
Portraying Emilia before and after her transition was a cathartic experience for Gascón, who is herself trans and was cognizant of her own life paralleling aspects of her character’s arc. “This is something that has changed me a lot,” the Madrid-born actress said through an interpreter. “It led to a lot of internal learning for myself. I left a lot of my own personal darkness in Manitas and Emilia, and I got a lot of light in return from these characters.”
Not to mention outside attention and accolades, which began in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where the female cast (including costar Adriana Paz) won the best actress prize. Gascón became the first trans woman to be honored with the award.
“This movie brings a message of hope for women [and] the LGBT community, but also for many people suffering right now — for them to know that there can be hope,” she said. “My character in the film is this ray of hope. And personally, I do feel like I am carrying this message. I have a social responsibility that goes beyond the creative achievement of the film. This is the type of movie that will make history, not just the cinema but something that will be studied in books, that will be studied in universities.”
The arrival of “Emilia Pérez” during an increasingly fraught time for the trans community is not lost on Gascón. When asked what it means to her to be a Changemaker, she said, “People are committing acts of hate, violence, even murder against people for being different and for the simple reason of existing. It is a great source of pride to be included, but at the same time, I know I’ve gotten this responsibility for a reason.”
Saldaña, whose father is Dominican and mother is Puerto Rican, is a leading advocate for Latinx representation and inclusive storytelling. The experience of making “Emilia Pérez” was so profound, she said, it felt “medicinal.”
“As a daughter of immigrants, and having Spanish as my native tongue, it at times has felt like that world was very separate from the world I started to inhabit as an adult,” she said. “Reconnecting with those parts of myself through this film has meant a great deal for me personally, and I hope it does to any young girls who might look like me and have the same dreams I did. As a mother and as an artist, I feel a great responsibility to tell these kinds of complicated and rich stories that push us to look at the world and the people around us differently and more compassionately.
“It’s beautiful when you get seen for the work that you do,” she added. “I am so grateful that this project has come in my lifetime and that I’m perhaps a small part of history being made.”
