Netflix users were left drastically divided over Selena Gomez’s latest musical thriller Emilia Perez which premiered on the streaming service this week.
In the new movie, Selena takes on the dynamic role of Jessi Del Monte, the wife of Del Monte and a mother of two. Emilia Perez, based on Audiard’s opera libretto of the same name, follows the story of a notorious cartel leader who enlists a Mexican lawyer to help achieve her dream of transitioning into a woman.
Emilia Perez, directed by filmmaker Jacques Audiard, was branded as the most divisive film of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and just began streaming on Netflix on November 13. Since then viewers have taken to social media sharing their divided reviews on the film with some finding the movie “insanely offensive” and “incredibly boring” while others called it “phenomenal” with some the best musical numbers they’ve seen all year.
People share what celebs are really like in person from Miley Cyrus to Selena Gomez
Benny Blanco trolled over Sexiest Man Alive mishap as Selena Gomez comes to his defense
The majority of viewers left scathing reviews for the film with many calling the plot boring, offensive, and miscasted. In a newly posted Reddit thread discussing the film, one critic wrote: “I’m honestly baffled that this movie has gotten any love at all. The songs are laughably bad, literally laughed at most song scenes because they were so ridiculously out of place and horribly written.”
They continued: “The tone was all over the place. During the non-musical parts I would get mildly intrigued, and then the musical parts would begin and completely rip me out of the movie with its insanely shallow, childish lyrics and music. Felt like watching a bad SNL skit in many parts.”
Another disappointed viewer added: “This was genuinely maybe the worst movie of the year for me. Insanely offensive yes (it manages to windmill slam on every single bad trans movie trope, and that’s even before you get into the Mexican culture aspect of it all), but frankly the worst part of it was how incredibly boring everything was,” and added: “Almost every song was entirely tuneless and sang breathlessly and strained, the editing was somehow lifeless despite wanting to do everything all the time.”
While a third critic agreed: “I felt the same way about it being kind of offensive. I can’t speak for either community but if I was Mexican I’d be pretty bothered by it, making some horrible drug lord out to suddenly be someone who cares combined with casting it of mostly non Mexican actors in the lead roles.”
As for the good, many viewers were vocal about their love for the film’s sensational cinematography, sound design, and acting performances. One fan wrote: “The scene of Rita meeting Manitas for the first time will forever be burned in my brain. Absolutely incredible sound design and performances, I get chills when I think about it. I found the movie to be phenomenal from the technical perspective all around, so glad I was able to see it on the big screen.”
Another fan praised: “I thought this was wonderful. I had the luck to see it in a theater and it was just such beautiful maximalist filmmaking. I’ve been describing it as Sicario meets The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and I was a bit of a mess for the whole thing. To me, this movie is about drastic change within yourself and how difficult it can be to get away from your old self, but also how freeing it can be to go through such change.”
While a third supporter added: “El Mal is genuinely the best musical number I’ve seen all year. Holy ****. I know Netflix is pushing for Mi Camino more but I’d totally give my vote for Original Song to this if I was in the Academy. This is easily Zoe Saldana’s Oscar clip and I totally see why she’s had frontrunner status for Supporting Actress.”
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.
All the latest news, showbiz, lifestyle and sports updates, brought to you by our dedicated American team.
Follow the Mirror US News page on Facebook to make sure you’re not missing out.
DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.
