Emilia Pérez, an original French musical crime film, streaming on Netflix, is the first ever non-English language film to be nominated thirteen times at the Oscars, being nominated as many times as the renowned films Forrest Gump, Mary Poppins, and The Lord of the Rings. However, is Emilia Pérez worthy of joining such an esteemed list? The majority of the public think not, thanks to an awkward musical clip of the film that surfaced on Tik-Tok, where Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña) consults with a doctor about transitioning, singing the words “men to women, women to men” in the most cacophonous tone.
Many commented that it is “awful” and reminds people of an “SNL skit” and while I can only see Emilia Pérez working as a musical as this genre allows the film to encapture such a dramatic tone, one which would not be possible if it were another genre. Parts of the musical composition are terrible, especially when we compare it to other nominees this year, such as Wicked. Not to mention the use of AI to improve Karla Sofía Gascón’s singing...
Personally, I think the music is the weakest aspect for which Emilia Pérez has received an Oscar nomination, despite two songs being nominated for the Music (Original Song) category. The last time that two songs were nominated was in 2017 for La La Land’s songs “City of Stars” (which won) and “Audition”—which most people deemed praiseworthy. But the majority are not as accommodating when it comes to Emilia Pérez’s music, but perhaps the year of 2024 just did not produce the best original music.
Despite my negative views on the music, I can see why Emilia Pérez has been so critically acclaimed. Firstly, all the actors do a spectacular job, especially Zoe Saldaña whose emotive performance could win her an Oscar within the first ten minutes of the film. The film is an original story which explores many issues, such as the thousands of people disappearing weekly in Mexico, the corrupt justice system, and gender dysphoria, in a way I haven’t seen done before.
The directing is decent and so is the screenplay (if we ignore the music). Compared to most of the crappy remakes we have been getting over the past couple years, Emilia Pérez’s imaginative concept is like a breath of fresh air and the critical acclaim it has received at the Golden Globes and the Oscars are deserving. Nonetheless, I do believe that thirteen nominations at the Oscars for a film with so many scenes in need of vast improvement is far too many. Especially regarding the music, as this year had many films with incredible sound/music that were snubbed, such as Challengers and Maria. To be at the same amount of nominations as Forrest Gump for the Oscars is absurd (but I may be biased as I absolutely love that movie). The music may just not be my personal preference, but when the majority of the public have a similar view, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that perhaps the music is just inadequate compared to other films that came out this year.
That being said, Emilia Pérez definitely earned the majority of the nominations it has received, but awarding it with thirteen does seem like a bit of stretch.