Emilia Pérez: A Complex Journey of Identity and Redemption
In the final scene of Emilia Pérez, a bold and controversial musical about a trans Mexican cartel leader, the story’s most pivotal transformation unfolds. The camera pans out to a funeral procession for Emilia (Karla Sofia Gascón), who dies in a fiery car crash with her estranged wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and Jessi’s lover, Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez). Throughout the film, Emilia atones for her violent past by helping families recover the “desaparecidos”—victims of cartel violence. In death, she is borne aloft by mourners as a life-sized plastic effigy of the Virgin Mary, while survivors pay homage to her with a loving tribute: “A quién hizo el milagro de cambiar el dolor en oro” (“To the one who miraculously turned pain into gold”).
Adapted from an opera libretto by French director Jacques Audiard, the film received the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and acclaim for performances, notably from Zoe Saldaña as Emilia’s lawyer, Rita, and Spanish actor Gascón as Emilia. The film seeks to depict women living amidst Mexico’s violence and femicide crisis, but as it reaches Emilia’s death, subtlety wanes. While the funeral scene serves as a cathartic moment, it also highlights how the film skirts a deeper engagement with the social issues it raises, using Emilia’s journey to obscure them rather than to address them.
The film begins by immersing us in the lives of these women through their perspectives. Rita, Emilia’s self-described “prieta” lawyer, who supports Emilia’s medical transition, sings about her struggles with corruption and the challenges of advancing as a Black Latina in a corporate world. Emilia, post-transition, becomes romantically involved with Epifanía (Adriana Paz), the mestiza widow of a cartel victim. Jessi, a disillusioned gringa, plots to escape with her children and Gustavo, setting off a sequence of dramatic events. These characters initially seem poised to provide a layered look at Mexican society, but the film’s exploration of Latin America’s cultural dynamics falls short.
In Latin America, race and class are deeply intertwined, with the ideology of mestizaje (the idea of racial mixing) promoting a narrative of unity that can obscure anti-Indigenous and anti-Black biases. Many who suffer from this marginalization make up the ranks of the disappeared—largely working-class, non-white individuals who become expendable. However, the film misses these nuances, overlooking how race and class shape cartel involvement and rarely acknowledging that cartel leaders are seldom from elite European backgrounds. Instead of exploring how Emilia ascends in this violent world, the focus shifts to her trans identity, treated at times as a spectacle. One literal musical number in a hospital has staff call out surgical procedures as Rita searches for the best doctor for Emilia, emphasizing the transition over character depth.
This narrow focus sidelines other characters, including Emilia’s girlfriend Epifanía, whose history as a survivor of domestic abuse is barely touched upon. Similarly, other women affected by cartel violence remain background figures, merely symbolic. Notably, the film focuses on Emilia’s role as a mother, primarily in the custody battle between her and Jessi. Jessi’s character—a discontented Mexican-American housewife longing to elope with Gustavo—could have added depth, but ultimately the portrayal reduces her to a melodramatic figure. This rivalry between Jessi and Emilia serves to elevate Emilia as a “good mother” in her relationship with Epifanía, overshadowing other storylines and seemingly aiming to redeem Emilia’s motherhood.
As the tension culminates, Emilia and Jessi reconcile just before a tragic car crash that claims their lives. In death, Emilia’s symbolic transformation into a Virgin-like figure echoes Mexico’s veneration of the Virgen de Guadalupe, blending religious iconography with themes of redemption and maternal sanctification. Guadalupe herself, a mestiza symbol, unifies people across classes and races, embodying the film’s ultimate message: Emilia’s death brings unity to women of diverse backgrounds, who stand in solidarity despite societal neglect.
The film’s release on Netflix follows a wave of new trans representation, yet Emilia’s story struggles to transcend certain tropes. Although she is celebrated in death, the film lacks insight into her life as a mother and person. Emilia’s children still recognize “their dad” in her, and her old voice emerges in moments of frustration, leaving her as a figure forever tied to her past identity. Despite the film’s promises of genre-bending originality, it ultimately falls back on the trope of the tragic trans figure, casting its most compelling character in a poignant but limited light.
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