Emilia Perez is primarily a search term in the UK because of a high-profile 2024 release. The piece is an explainer, not a review, and it aims to clarify why the story has gripped audiences and critics.
The 2024 Spanish-language French musical crime film by Jacques Audiard follows a Mexican cartel leader who fakes their death and transitions with a lawyer’s help. It premiered at Cannes on 18 May 2024 and mixed bold genre choices with high festival visibility.
Why it made headlines: the movie’s genre-mixing, major festival recognition and a polarising awards campaign pushed it into public debate. Key names tied to the picture include Jacques Audiard, Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez, all of whom shaped the conversation.
This article will focus on UK relevance: availability on Netflix, how the debate travelled across countries, and why reactions vary by audience and context. It then unpacks plot, cast and production, awards performance and the controversies it leaves behind in film culture.
Key Takeaways
- The term is trending in the UK due to the 2024–2025 news cycle around the emilia pérez project.
- The film’s genre mix and Cannes premiere made it a headline story.
- Major cast and creators drove public discussion across regions.
- UK viewers should note Netflix availability and differing reception.
- The article explains plot, production choices, awards and debates.
Why Emilia Pérez is dominating the conversation
What started as an audacious genre experiment quickly became one of the most talked-about films of the season. Festival wins and a high-profile campaign pushed the title into constant headlines in the UK.
A musical crime film turned awards-season lightning rod
emilia pérez collected major prizes — Cannes’ Jury Prize and an ensemble Best Actress honour — then led the Academy with 13 nominations and won two Oscars. It also secured four Golden Globe wins.
The critical reception praised direction, music and performances. Yet audience aggregator scores were notably low, creating a sharp disconnect between professional acclaim and public response.
What UK audiences are seeing versus the global backlash
In the UK the release cycle was led by Netflix availability, a big red-carpet push and relentless awards chatter rather than long local runs. That meant viewers encountered more campaign headlines than box-office context.
- The film’s festival success collided with online ridicule and polarised opinion.
- Key fault-lines included debates over cultural authenticity, trans representation and campaign tactics.
- Long awards conversations amplified extremes, turning the movie into a proxy for arguments about taste, politics and industry incentives.
This section sets up the rest of the guide: a neutral account of what happened, who said what, and why it mattered to UK perception and beyond.
Emilia Perez in context: film, not to be confused with Emily Perez
The title in 2024–25 refers mainly to a French-produced, Spanish-language musical crime drama about cartel violence and identity themes. For clarity, this article uses emilia pérez to mean the film and the name Manitas or Emilia when discussing the character.
Search confusion is common. International press, accent marks and repeated headlines push similar-name results into UK searches. That mix gives rise to mistaken identities in news feeds and social search.
“Use the accented title and context — festival, awards or streaming — to find accurate coverage.”
Reception differs by country and culture. In Mexico the story met specific scrutiny; elsewhere festival prizes and streaming release shaped other responses. Understanding those local reactions helps explain why some coverage celebrates the work while other pieces are sharply critical.
- Identification: French-produced, Spanish-language, musical crime drama set around Mexico.
- Why confusion happens: accents, international repeats, and similar names in search indexes.
- Naming rule for this article: use emilia pérez for the film; use Emilia or Manitas for the character.
| Aspect | Summary | Relevance to UK readers |
|---|---|---|
| Production | French-backed, Spanish-language, festival-focused | Explains festival headlines and awards interest |
| Themes | Cartel violence, identity and music | Context for cultural debate and reviews |
| Reception | Varies by country and cultural context | Helps UK readers interpret mixed press and audience reaction |
What is Emilia Pérez? The film’s premise and genre-bending approach
A French production reframes cartel narrative with heightened musical and theatrical flair. The project is a Spanish-language, studio-shot musical crime drama running 132 minutes, written and directed by Jacques Audiard.
Spanish-language French musical crime drama explained
It was adapted from Audiard’s opera libretto and loosely from a chapter of Boris Razon’s novel Écoute. Dialogue mixes Spanish and English and the staging favours operatic, heightened choices over gritty realism.
From cartel story to trans identity narrative
The core premise follows a cartel leader who fakes death, transitions and tries to start anew with legal help. The narrative shifts from crime mechanics into themes of identity, remorse and reinvention. That shift fuels much of the praise and critique.
Why critics call it audacious, stylised, and divisive
Reviewers note bold genre collisions, choreographed numbers and tonal leaps. Some see daring invention; others find the mix of cartel violence and trans portrayal in a musical frame uncomfortable.
“Audiard started from opera DNA and then aimed to inject realism.”
| Aspect | Detail | Why it matters in the UK |
|---|---|---|
| Origins | French-backed, studio-filmed, opera roots | Explains festival strategy and stylised choices |
| Premise | Cartel leader, disappearance, transition, lawyer aide | Clarifies the dual crime and identity focus |
| Style | Musical numbers, heightened mise-en-scène, Spanish/English | Accounts for polarised reviews and audience reactions |
Plot highlights that shaped the headlines
At its core the plot links a lawyer’s risky assistance to a cartel leader’s bid for a new life. That framing explains why plot details led the news cycle and public debate.
Manitas’ plan to disappear and transition with Rita’s help
Rita Mora Castro, a Mexico City lawyer, is drawn into an illicit scheme by Juan “Manitas” Del Monte. She uses contacts to arrange gender-affirming surgery and a staged death.
The covert plan includes relocation and financial arrangements to protect the children and erase the gangster’s public identity.
Four years later: London, family reunions, and a new life
Four years on, Rita unexpectedly meets the transformed figure in London. The reintroduction resets the story from logistics to emotional consequence.
To reconnect with the family, Emilia is presented as a wealthy cousin — a cover that raises tension and risk for everyone involved.
The nonprofit storyline and the film’s tragic ending
Emilia and Rita channel resources into a nonprofit that locates unidentified bodies and seeks closure for victims’ families. That initiative proved controversial in Mexico.
Conflict escalates: a kidnapping and shootout expose identities. After Emilia’s reveal, a car crash kills Emilia, Jessi and Gustavo, leaving Rita as guardian.
| Plot element | What happens | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| Initial scheme | Rita helps Manitas fake death and transition | Linked legal complicity with cartel activity |
| Time jump | Four years later, meeting in London | Shifts tone to reunion and consequences |
| Nonprofit | Organisation to identify cartel victims | Added moral stakes and public controversy |
| Climax | Kidnapping, shootout, identity reveal, fatal crash | Tragic resolution that fuels discussion about the film’s themes |
Key people behind the film: cast and creatives
A mix of opera instincts and studio craft defined the film’s creative leadership from the start. The project grew from a libretto-like idea into a full-scale, highly designed production.
Jacques Audiard: writer-director
Jacques Audiard led as writer and director, working with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi. The team kept the opera DNA in the screenplay and staging. This explains the film’s theatrical rhythms and musical emphasis.
Karla Sofía Gascón: dual role
karla sofía gascón plays both Juan “Manitas” and the later identity. She performs pre- and post-transition stages herself, a choice that shaped awards discussions and on-screen continuity.
Principal cast and supporting actors
zoe saldaña anchors the drama as Rita, the lawyer whose choices drive the plot. selena gomez appears as Jessi, whose reactions escalate the film’s conflict. Adriana Paz features as Epifanía, tying the nonprofit thread to themes of care and redemption.
Music, movement and technical craft
Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, choreography by Damien Jalet and costumes by Anthony Vaccarello (Saint Laurent) made the production feel deliberately ‘crafted’. Cinematography (Paul Guilhaume) and editing (Juliette Welfling) supported the stylised approach.
- Supporting names: Édgar Ramírez, Mark Ivanir and others bolstered ensemble scenes.
- The cast and crew combined theatrical technique with cinematic craft.
| Role | Key name(s) | Contribution | Why it matters to UK viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director / Writer | Jacques Audiard | Adapted opera instincts into screenplay | Explains stylised tone and festival strategy |
| Lead performer | Karla Sofía Gascón | Dual portrayal of the main character | Central to awards debate and performance note |
| Supporting cast | Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz | Emotional anchor and plot catalysts | High-profile names shaped UK interest |
| Creative team | Clément Ducol, Camille, Damien Jalet, Vaccarello | Music, choreography, costumes and design | Creates the film’s theatrical and visual identity |
Production choices under scrutiny
Shooting mainly in a Paris studio rather than on Mexican streets transformed how audiences read the story. Although the narrative is set in Mexico, most principal photography took place at Studios de Bry-sur-Marne near Paris. That practical fact became a headline issue for critics and viewers alike.
Why filming moved from Mexico to studios near Paris
Practical control drove the choice: a musical requires precise choreography, lighting and sound that are easier to manage on soundstages. The production team prioritised a controlled environment to stage large set pieces and complex musical numbers.
Audiard’s rationale: opera DNA, stylisation, and “realism”
Jacques Audiard defended the move, saying Mexico felt “too pedestrian, too real” for his vision. He explained he wanted to “re-inject the DNA of an opera” and favour stylisation over documentary-like realism. For the director, form and theatricality were essential to the film’s tone.
Language, accent, and authenticity debates
The studio strategy amplified questions about authenticity. Critics in Mexico and beyond flagged performances, accents and Spanish delivery — especially when some actors were non-native speakers.
Supporters argue the film is intentional fantasy: a heightened, operatic work that uses crafted sets as part of its language. Detractors see the distance as a refusal to engage with lived realities and cultural specifics.
- The setting choice connected to genre: musicals often benefit from studio control.
- Audiard’s opera framing explained staging but fuelled accusations of Eurocentrism.
- Language and accent debates shaped later backlash and online criticism.
“Mexico felt too pedestrian, too real” — Jacques Audiard
Release timeline and UK availability
From May’s Cannes curtain-raiser to a November streaming launch, the rollout was deliberately paced to build prestige and momentum. The world premiere took place at Cannes on 18 May 2024 and was followed by festival stops at Telluride, Toronto (9 Sept 2024), San Sebastián and Busan.
Theatrical dates then landed: France opened the film on 21 August 2024 (Pathé), with a limited US/Canada run from 1 November 2024. UK audiences gained easy access when Netflix released the title on 13 November 2024.
Cannes and the festival road
Festival screenings supplied awards-season visibility and critical cachet. Prestige showings helped the movie rack up early nominations and press coverage, which fed into later campaigning.
Netflix in the United Kingdom and campaign spend
Netflix acquired UK and North American rights after negotiations reported at about $8 million. The streamer then backed an aggressive campaign, with reported spend north of $50 million on Oscar promotion.
Practical takeaway for UK viewers: watch on Netflix from 13 November 2024; expect the title to have dominated late‑2024 conversation because streaming put a festival favourite into homes during voting windows.
“Limited theatrical exposure plus heavy publicity was a clear awards strategy.”
| Release milestone | Date | Region | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|---|
| World premiere | 18 May 2024 | Cannes (International) | Built early prestige and critical attention |
| France theatrical | 21 Aug 2024 | France | Public screenings ahead of festival awards season |
| Limited North American run | 1 Nov 2024 | US & Canada | Qualified the film for awards consideration |
| Netflix UK release | 13 Nov 2024 | United Kingdom (streaming) | Made the film widely available during peak awards campaigning |
Emilia Pérez’s biggest achievements on the awards circuit
Awards season turned the title into a lightning rod, converting early festival prestige into sustained recognition across major voting bodies. The story is notable for how festival validation translated into widespread nominations and headline wins.
Cannes validation and ensemble recognition
Cannes 2024 awarded the Jury Prize and a Best Actress honour to the female ensemble, signalling industry respect for the cast and Jacques Audiard’s formal ambition.
Academy Awards performance
The film led the field at the 97th Academy Awards with 13 nominations. It secured two wins: Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña) and Best Original Song, “El mal”, milestones that shaped UK and international headlines.
Golden Globes impact
At the 82nd Golden Globe Awards the production took four wins from ten nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Foreign Language Film. Those results boosted mainstream visibility and framed the project as a serious awards contender.
BAFTA engagement
In the UK the title earned 11 BAFTA nominations, including a Best Film nod, and converted two wins. That strong showing demonstrated how British voting bodies engaged with the project despite public controversy.
“The awards arc shows how festival acclaim can coexist with heated public debate.”
- The Cannes prizes validated the ensemble and the film’s stylised choices.
- Academy Awards success—two wins from 13 nominations—kept the title in international news cycles.
- Golden Globes wins increased mainstream traction ahead of later votes.
- BAFTA recognition mattered for UK audiences and local industry perception.
Best Actress narrative: the promise and the pressure
A festival win can recast a performer’s career overnight, turning a single moment on the Croisette into a global talking point.
Gascón’s Cannes moment and its significance for a trans performer
karla sofía gascón shared the Cannes Best Actress honour with her female co‑stars. The acceptance speech highlighted visibility for a trans woman, giving the role and the film renewed cultural weight.
“I dedicate this to trans people,” said a member of the winning ensemble.
How “frontrunner” status can shift during awards season
Early prizes, critics’ praise and high‑profile appearances can label an actor a frontrunner for major awards. That label often centres on a single performance and a mounting publicity push.
Momentum can change fast. Coverage that moves from performance to controversy can weaken a campaign and reframe a best actress narrative for voters.
- Why it mattered in the UK: the Cannes win positioned karla sofía and the film, emilia pérez, at the heart of awards talk.
- How narratives shift: frontrunner status depends on votes, press cycles and how campaign teams respond to scrutiny.
- Practical point: a Best Actress race is as much about timing and perception as it is about craft.
Critical response versus audience scores
The picture’s visual ambition and musical staging divided opinion from the start.
Professional critics largely praised the work. Reviews noted the director’s formal choices, the film’s musical construction and strong centrepiece performances from Gascón and Saldaña. Many reviews framed the project as genre‑bending and imaginatively staged rather than strictly realistic.
What critics highlighted
Critics pointed to bold direction, layered choreography and a willingness to mix harsh subject matter with operatic flourish. The score and production design were often cited as doing thematic heavy lifting. Performances received consistent mention as a major strength.
The split: positive press alongside low audience ratings
Aggregators tracked the divide. Rotten Tomatoes reported 71% of critics’ reviews as positive and Metacritic listed a 70/100 score. By contrast, audience metrics trended very low — an 18% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and commentary noting a 2.2/5 on Letterboxd.
That gap grew into a story. Viewers expecting a conventional cartel drama, a straightforward musical or hard realism reacted strongly against tone and stylisation. Low ratings were then cited in debates about whether awards and critics were out of step with general audiences.
“Aggregator splits became part of the wider conversation about taste and cultural authority.”
| Metric | Critics | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | 71% positive | 18% audience |
| Metacritic | 70/100 | — (low audience commentary) |
| Letterboxd (reported) | — | 2.2/5 |
For UK readers: aggregator scores explain headlines but do not settle artistic value. They offer context for how critics and public perception diverged during the awards season for emilia pérez.
Mexico’s reaction: cultural portrayal, stereotypes, and backlash
The country reacted strongly to what many saw as a foreign reworking of local suffering. Public debate in Mexico and across Latin America focused less on craft and more on representation.
Accusations of Eurocentrism and misrepresentation
Critics argued the film presented a Eurocentric view, filming outside Mexico and foregrounding cartel imagery in stylised settings. Screenwriters and local people said that choice flattened complexity into spectacle.
Missing persons as a backdrop: why it hit a nerve
The narrative uses the missing‑persons crisis as plot material and musical tableau. Some commentators said this aestheticised trauma and risked trivialising real families’ grief.
Selena Gomez and the Derbez episode
Selena Gomez’s Spanish diction became a viral talking point. Eugenio Derbez publicly criticised the casting and later retracted his harsher lines, showing how quickly discourse escalated online.
Viral parody and the “revenge” discourse
A short film, Johanne Sacreblu by Camila Aurora González, circulated as a counter‑move. The parody used French stereotypes to mirror critiques of the main film and fed wider conversations about cultural ethics.
“The core objection was both cultural and ethical: who has the right to dramatise another country’s pain?”
- Mexican screenwriters and people in press framed objections around misrepresentation and responsibility.
- The debate linked casting, language and the use of drug‑related violence to wider questions about artistic licence.
Trans representation debate and LGBTQ+ critiques
The film’s visibility during awards season intensified scrutiny of how it represents gender transition.
Why some commentators called the portrayal retrograde
Advocacy groups and commentators argued the story leaned on dated tropes. They said the narrative framed transition as a plot device rather than a lived experience.
Common criticisms: surgery focus, stereotypes, and framing of identity
Critics noted recurring motifs that troubled many viewers. These included a heavy emphasis on surgical procedures and a clear before/after binary.
Some reviews suggested the script treated the transformed character as fundamentally the same person “underneath”, a framing that several LGBTQ+ voices found harmful.
How advocacy groups and critics assessed the film’s impact
GLAAD described the production as “a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman”, a comment that circulated widely during the campaign.
Other trans critics and community groups said responses were mixed: while some praised increased visibility and a strong central performance from the lead actress, others prioritised concerns about stereotyping and misrepresentation.
- The central critique: transition used as dramatic mechanism rather than explored with nuance.
- Why it mattered: major awards attention amplified these debates and made them headline news.
- Not unanimous: commentary ranged from supportive to strongly critical.
“The depiction felt rooted in a cis imagination of transness,” said a number of commentators.
Karla Sofía Gascón controversy and the awards campaign fallout
Old tweets attributed to the film’s lead re-emerged and quickly dominated the conversation in the run-up to major votes. The resurfacing shifted media attention from craft to conduct, changing the story around emilia pérez at a decisive moment.
Resurfaced posts and public apologies
Historic X/Twitter posts attributed to karla sofía gascón were widely reported as offensive. As coverage spread, the actor issued public apologies in several interviews and statements.
Claims of adversaries and social escalation
Sofía gascón also suggested some comments were taken out of context and pointed to “dark arts” by adversaries. That narrative fed further debate and kept the story alive on social platforms.
Impact on visibility, campaigning and perception
The timing mattered: the controversy hit weeks before academy awards voting. Campaign events were cancelled, on‑camera appearances curtailed, and Netflix’s awards strategy faced fresh scrutiny.
“The episode exposed how fragile a frontrunner position can be when opposition research and social media collide.”
- Immediate effects: altered optics, cancelled interviews and extra vetting.
- Broader point: awards season is increasingly vulnerable to past posts resurfacing.
- Outcome: the controversy reshaped public perception of emilia pérez during its final push.
Technology and performance: the AI-enhanced singing discussion
Coverage noted that post‑production tools were applied to the film’s vocal tracks, prompting debate about performance authenticity.
What was reported
Press reports suggested Karla Sofía Gascón’s singing was AI‑enhanced to extend range and smooth certain passages. Journalists framed this as a technical aid rather than an outright replacement of the actor’s voice.
Why it matters to awards voters
Voters and juries weigh craft and authorship. When a film uses vocal augmentation, questions arise about where performance ends and production begins.
That matters for the film in awards contexts because perceived authenticity can influence how actor credit is judged during shortlisting and final ballots.
Industry context and wider debates
Similar conversations have surfaced around accent modification, vocal tuning and other post‑production fixes in recent contenders. The issue sits at the intersection of technology, transparency and artistic intent.
Practical takeaway for UK readers
The controversy is less a technical exposé and more about trust. Viewers and voters asked for clear crediting so people know when a voice has been altered.
“The debate centred on transparency: did augmentation change how we value a performance?”
- Reported use: AI tools applied to singing to enhance range and polish.
- Key concern: authorship and fair attribution in a musical film.
- Wider trend: post‑production enhancements are increasingly common and contested.
- UK angle: transparency affects public trust and how awards weigh technical versus performative contribution.
What Emilia Pérez leaves behind in film culture
The film’s most lasting effect may be how it forced mainstream viewers to debate form as much as content.
A bold genre experiment: musical, cartel story, and trans narrative
emilia pérez combined a cartel storyline with operatic staging and a trans arc. The result compelled audiences to decide if heightened fantasy can responsibly treat real‑world harms.
How the film reflects the modern awards ecosystem
The picture showed how streaming reach, heavy campaigning and fast social media cycles shape reception. A director such as jacques audiard used festival prestige and platform backing to convert artistic risk into awards visibility.
Why it continues to divide critics, audiences, and industry figures
Division is part of the legacy: the same choices that won industry praise also provoked questions about authenticity and representation. That split keeps the work in cultural discussion.
“It became less a single title than a touchstone for wider debates about taste, power and access.”
- Case study: films that mix genre force fresh debates on ethics and style.
- Industry lesson: awards attention can amplify both praise and backlash.
- UK note: the title remains a reference point in talks about representation and incentives.
| Legacy area | What changed | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Genre boundaries | Musical forms used for crime narratives | Reframes how films tackle violent subject matter |
| Awards mechanics | Streaming plus intense campaigning | Shows how visibility can outpace public consensus |
| Representation debate | Trans narrative amid spectacle | Prompts ongoing industry and audience scrutiny |
Conclusion
The film’s journey from Croisette to Netflix turned it into a test case for awards visibility and public reaction.
emilia pérez premiered at Cannes on 18 May 2024 and reached UK viewers on Netflix from 13 November 2024. The movie led the Oscars with 13 nominations and won two: Best Supporting Actress for zoe saldaña and Best Original Song, while also taking four Golden Globe wins including Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
The reasons it stayed in the headlines are clear: Cannes validation, a high‑volume awards campaign, and controversies over authenticity, representation and past social posts. Director jacques audiard used a musical frame that sharpened both praise and pushback.
For UK audiences the practical point is simple: this movie was widely available and widely debated. As a work it is an ambitious genre experiment and a reminder that stories tied to real harm need careful handling. Watch for how awards bodies and campaigns respond to polarised public reaction in the coming season.
