The Empty Symbolism of Emilia Pérez’s Ending

As a film critic who has spent years navigating the complexities of Latin American cinema and its representation, I found myself both captivated and disappointed by “Emilia Pérez.” The film’s ambitious attempt to tackle themes of transness, motherhood, and social class was commendable, but it fell short in many areas.

Spoilers for the end of Emilia Pérez, which is streaming on Netflix now.

The final scene in Emilia Pérez, the controversial musical about a trans Mexican cartel leader, includes the film’s most potentially significant transformation. The camera pans out to show the funeral procession for Emilia (Karla Sofia Gascón), after she dies in a fiery car crash alongside her estranged wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and her wife’s lover Gustavo (Edgar Ramirez). Throughout the film, Emilia atones for her ostensibly violent past by helping families recover some of the media designated- “desaparecidos,” — casualties of drug trade violence. In death she is borne aloft by mourners as a life-sized plastic Catholic Virgin. Led by Emilia’s girlfriend, Epifanía (Adriana Paz), relatives of victims pay loving homage to the tear-stained effigy: “A quién hizo el milagro de cambiar el dolor en oro” (“to the one who miraculously turned pain into gold.”)

According to an opera script penned by Jacques Audiard, Emilia has received recognition for its best film and cast performance at Cannes, and rightfully earned praise for the acting, particularly from Zoe Saldaña portraying Emilia’s lawyer, Rita, and Gascón in the title role. The movie is intended to depict women navigating Mexico’s violent and femicide crisis.

However, as the movie reaches Emilia’s death as its emotional peak, it sheds any nuance. Although the funeral provides a cathartic experience for viewers, it also reveals that instead of prompting contemplation on the inequality the characters address, the film employs Emilia’s journey to conceal such issues rather than confront them.

Initially, Audiard immerses us deeply into the lives of these female characters, presenting their worlds predominantly from their point of view. Rita, Emilia’s lawyer who identifies as a “dark one,” assists Emilia through her medical transition and expresses her struggles with racism and corporate advancement in a rock song. After her transition, Emilia becomes involved with Epifanía, the mixed-race wife of a man killed in the drug war. Jessi, a dissatisfied American, desires to flee with Gustavo and take her children along, leading to the film’s intense climax. These characters offer a nuanced exploration of the society depicted in the movie.

To grasp why the movie falls short, it’s crucial to recognize the significant impact of race, class, and the ideology of Mestizaje in Latin America. This ideology, analogous to “I don’t see color,” claims that all Latin Americans are a blend of Black, Indigenous, and European ancestry. However, this supposed unity overlooks the profound racial and class disparities, enriching a predominantly white and white-adjacent upper class.

Initially, the movie appears to overlook significant cultural differences, particularly regarding race and class in Latin America. Contrary to the film’s portrayal, cartel leaders are rarely of blue-eyed European descent. Their ethnicity often hinders their access to opportunities, pushing them towards illegal, violent economies, as seen in figures like Griselda Blanco, “El Chapo,” and Pablo Escobar. The movie fails to delve into the complex reasons behind Emilia’s rise through the ranks, leaving her story incomplete or unexplored.

The film primarily explores Emilia’s transness rather than providing an intimate view of her life, often reducing it to a medicalized performance. In one unusual scene set in a hospital, characters sing about various surgical procedures while Rita, who serves as the film’s moral compass, is evaluating potential doctors for Emilia. The story does not delve into Rita or Emilia’s personal experiences, and Epifania, Emilia’s girlfriend, is similarly one-dimensional, known only as a survivor of domestic abuse. Apart from Epifania, other female characters such as the wives and mothers of the missing women, or the disappeared women themselves, are merely used as background elements.

The main storyline centers around Emilia’s unique experience of motherhood, as she is a white woman with two kids. Initially, these children are sent to Switzerland with their biological mother Jessi, while Emilia undergoes a transformation. Later on, she brings them back to live with her in Mexico City, presenting herself as their aunt. At first glance, the character of Jessi, who is depicted as an unsatisfied Mexican-American expatriate wife, seems to add an intriguing twist to the plot. She harbors a desire to elope with the captivating Gustavo and wishes to take the children along with her.

The movie centers around two mothers, Jessi and Emilia, fighting over child custody. In an attempt to secure escape with her lover Gustavo, Jessi resorts to kidnapping Emilia. The events unfold in a manner reminiscent of a soap opera, with Jessi’s character resembling Sharon Stone from “Casino” set in a Mexican villa. The stereotypical portrayal of the two mothers in conflict appears deliberately exaggerated to garner audience sympathy for Emilia: Jessi is depicted as a selfish woman taking the children away while living with her sociopathic partner, and Emilia is presented as a good mother in a cross-class, interracial relationship with Epifania. This narrative seems designed to showcase the redemption of white motherhood prior to Emilia’s ultimate veneration.

Eventually, prior to Gustavo’s kidnapping attempt on Emilia becoming chaotic, Emilia and Jessi make up. However, their reconciliation ends tragically when Jessi fights for control of the wheel in the car Gustavo is driving, with Emilia restrained in the trunk.

The solemn funeral procession and Emilia’s symbolic change, reminiscent of the virgin venerated in Mexican traditions like the Virgen de Guadalupe, appear to be influenced by Mexico’s profound history of serenades and devotion. By transforming Emilia into a Virgin, the film honors her and her restored motherhood, emphasizing redemption.

In a more simplified and natural language, Guadalupe symbolizes blending of races (mestizaje), being half white and half indigenous. She is a nurturing figure who brings people together. As the film progresses, Emilia’s death serves to unite women regardless of class or ethnicity. Epifanía and other overlooked women express their loyalty to Emilia through song, while Rita assumes responsibility for Emilia and Jessi’s children, a trans-racial adoption that seems to ease the situation. However, it is the women of color, specifically Epifanía and Rita, who take on the task of emotional healing in the aftermath.

Perez’s appearance on Netflix follows the Will Ferrell documentary, “Will & Harper”, another example of favorable trans representation that may serve as a way for the platform to improve its controversial stance towards trans issues. However, the film struggles to portray Emilia’s life authentically after her death. In an unusual twist, Emilia is not fully depicted as a mother. Instead, her children continue to associate her with their father by scent, and when Jessi asks to take them, Emilia’s self-centered and angry “father” side emerges (including her old voice). Despite the hype about Emilia Perez‘s innovative genre-bending, it appears that even in this supposedly groundbreaking portrayal, the most compelling trans woman remains a deceased one.

2024-11-14 23:54

The Empty Symbolism of Emilia Pérez’s Ending

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