Tiago’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Hello, very nice to meet you, I'd like to know about sex change operation."
"I see, I see, I see."
Borderline unwatchable. An abysmal, regressive, offensive project that will be remembered in decades to come as the worst film to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. There's no story to tell in Emilia Perez, and no real message. Jacques Audiard simply mentions controversial topics, such as the Mexican and transgender communities, without any real substance, interest or empathy. How did this hollow piece of shit get nominated for 13 Oscars? It's obvious that the Academy only cares that Emilia Perez touches on these themes, not the way it does so, even if it's disrespectful. The film looks energetic and fun at first glance, but it's a lifeless, soulless, sauceless monstrosity that is visually dull and boring. Emilia Perez is just trying too hard to look weird and different instead of focusing on actually saying something about its topics. Not to mention that the musical numbers are insufferable and the song lyrics seem like they were written by A.I.
This film doesn't deserve to be nominated for any of the 13 categories, as it is even mediocre when it comes to songs, editing and acting. All the performances are simply fine, with Zoe Saldaña trying her hardest to save this sinking ship of a movie, but to no avail. Karla Sofía Gascón delivers a decent performance that is absolutely NOT worthy of any awards, so it's quite obvious that the Academy only nominated her to set the record of first transgender woman to be nominated for best actress. On top of that, Emilia Perez is incredibly boring and misguided, making two hours feel like four. I never felt so uninterested and empty while watching a film. This was an exhausting, energy-draining chore that was painful to watch at times, especially during Selena Gomez's scenes. And the fact that there was some award praise over Selena's performance only proves my theory that Hollywood no longer knows what good acting is.
I'm neither Mexican nor trans, and I can't say I'm that educated on either experience, but Emilia Perez feels extremely forced, insensitive, overly sentimental and even offensive, with important themes presented in such a stereotypical way that ends up being derogatory and marginalizing. This only shows that Jacques Audiard had no clue about trans and Mexican culture, and also had absolutely no trust in the audience at all. Emilia Perez treats its audience like they're stupid and totally oblivious about these topics, as it just feels like the film is holding your hand from start to finish. The story is already an incoherent and aimless mess from the beginning, but after Emilia is kidnapped, it goes straight off the rails and deep-dives into a big dumpster fire. Emilia Perez desperately tries to be original and inventive at any cost, but it only ends up being an obnoxious pile of nonsense that is also subtly racist and transphobic. You're trying to tell me that all movies are art and cinema is subjective? Well, this shit is an abhorrent insult to art, and an objectively bad film.
