Emilia Perez

Matt Roush says...

You may be hearing a lot about director/writer Jacques Audiard’s audacious hybrid of crime drama, feminist fable, and musical during Oscar season. The ensemble cast of trans Spanish/Mexican actress Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz won a collective prize for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and Gascon will likely be a front-runner for the Oscar. She plays the title role, who as brutal cartel leader “Manitas” hires a frustrated lawyer (Saldaña) to fake their death so Emilia can emerge and live as a woman, leaving a confused widow (Gomez) behind. Dramatic scenes are punctuated by surreal musical sequences with breathtakingly original results. This may be a long shot for the big Hollywood prize, but then, so was Everything Everywhere All at Once.

What's Worth Watching (Nov 13)