Emilia Pérez

Récit d'une folle audace sur des thèmes bien de son temps. Fusion réussie de drame de moeurs et de comédie musicale. Réalisation maîtrisée. K.S. Gascon bluffante.

The themes are broad and brassy as the film that explores them, and all the better still. It was about time for someone to take such a big swing, and to hit the ball so far out the park.

Une chose est certaine. Dans cet univers Audiardien, la normalité telle quelle n'est pas une option. Toutes les extravagances sont permises. Mais à condition que ces changements de vie se déroulent avec grâce et dignité, même si les conséquences peuvent s'avérer dramatiques.

Despite a slow start and its wildly varying tones, Emilia Pérez works best when you give yourself over to its harried, shaggy magic. It's an ambitious, provocative, big swing of a picture -- and if it's not always a home run, at least it manages to consistently get on base.

Audiard wonders how much people really change when they transition. In Emilia's case, less than she'd like, but enough to inspire positive change in society.

The baseline is a drama of criminality and redemption, but then there's an unforced current of Almodóvarian humor, along with moments of melodrama, noir, social realism, a hint of telenovela camp and a climactic escalation into suspense, ultimately touched by tragedy.