Emilia Pérez (2024, R)

Going into this musical, I’d already heard a fair amount of chatter about its various scandals, which I’m sure affected my overall perception of it. But even without that foreknowledge, I’m pretty sure it still would’ve set off my spidey senses. At the halfway mark for Best Picture nominees, and this one wasn’t my favorite.

What’s It About?

Rita is a lawyer working in Mexico, good at what she does but ground down from having to defend guilty, powerful people who’ve done terrible things. One night, she’s abducted and brought before a notorious narco, who has a surprising request: she’s trans and wants to Rita to secretly facilitate the arrangements for her transition.

Who’s in It?

Zoe Saldaña plays Rita, and hearing her sing reminded me how little we got to hear her sing in The Book of Life. The character does a lot more sing-talking, but on the occasions when she gets a chance, her voice is great and her acting is on point. Karla Sofía Gascón plays Emilia, the eponymous narco, and Selena Gomez plays her wife Jessi, who’s kept in the dark about her spouse’s situation. Things get real, real messy there! Edgar Ramírez also appears in the film.

What’s It Nominated For?

Emilia Pérez was nominated for thirteen Oscars:

·        Best Picture

·        Best Leading Actress – Karla Sofía Gascón

·        Best Supporting Actress – Zoe Saldaña

·        Best Adapted Screenplay

·        Best Director

·        Best Cinematography

·        Best Original Score

·        Best Original Song – “El Mal”

·        Best Original Song – “Mi Camino”

·        Best Hair & Makeup

·        Best Editing

·        Best Sound

What Do I Love About It?

·        Okay, this one is gonna be short!

·        Most of the score doesn’t appeal to me that much, but every once in a while, it hits on a song or a motif that’s really lovely.

·        Some of the songs are staged pretty cool. The film employs a wide range of visual styles for the production numbers, and they’re always interesting to look at.

·        I’ve encountered a number of stories that deal with a spouse/parent transitioning, and it’s a particular minefield here. I won’t spoil the details, but Emilia, Jessi, and their kids wind up in a super thorny situation that’s interesting to watch play out.

Warnings

Violence, sexual content, language, drinking/smoking/drug use, misgendering/deadnaming, and strong thematic elements.

Y tu Luna también: Everything Will Be Fine: Season 1, Episode 1 – “Ortiburcio” (2021)

*Premise spoilers.*

Revisiting this show for Y tu Luna también, and episode 1 is already reminding me how much I like it. While Diego Luna isn’t in this show, he created it and directed all eight episodes. Let’s get into it!

Julia and Ruy are preparing for a custody hearing over their daughter Andrea. How did they get to that point? We rewind three months, seeing them when they were still living together and, on the surface, functioning well as a family unit. But as they all work to juggle their individual and shared plates, everything comes to a head at an engagement party for Julia’s brother.

The show paints a strong picture of this family and its members very quickly. Julia is a feminist artist from a well-to-do background preparing to “sell [her soul] to the corporate devil” in an ad campaign. Ruy works for a radio station that’s equal parts music and political discourse, where he’s much too familiar with one of his female subordinates, constantly ingratiating himself too close and being too forceful in “helping” her out. Between them is the delightful Andrea, who has nightmares about evil chickens, wears Iron Maiden T-shirts as pajamas at her dad’s behest, and cracks her tooth on candy she’s not supposed to be eating.

“Start in the middle, then circle back” is a popular narrative approach, and it’s really effective here. We open on Ruy and Julia separately answering questions for a “psychobiographical profile” ahead of their custody hearing, so we know from the first scene that they’re splitting up. When we jump back in time, we see what appears on the surface to be a messy-but-cozy family, with Julia and Ruy both nonchalantly comforting Andrea after her nightmare, and a hectic morning routine where everyone’s running late, but they somehow make it work anyway.

But during these “happy times,” we see the cracks too. We glimpse little moments of tension between Julia and Ruy, showing that not all is smooth sailing, and this tension builds significantly in the last third of the episode. We also see some important distinctions in their parenting. For instance, when Julia is late dropping Andrea at school in the morning, she’s clearly rushed, hurrying Andrea along while still doing her best to be responsive to her daughter. Meanwhile, when Ruy is late picking Andrea up in the afternoon, he breezes in, brushing off any concerns with, “Hey, I have until 2:30.” Little moments add up in significant ways.

My first time watching Everything Will Be Fine, I knew I was going to like it when I got to a scene where Ruy takes Andrea to the dentist. The office is closed for fumigation, but Fausto opens it up especially for them, and after watching all of them of them get progressively more bothered by the chemical smell, we cut to them in the parking lot, with Fausto working on Andrea’s tooth while she sits in the open hatchback. It’s a really charming moment that feels indicative of the inventive streak that’s threaded through the show’s overall grounded feel.

Luna doesn’t have a specific teleplay credit on any of the episodes, so I’m not sure how involved he is on the writing side of the show, but the series is his creation. His direction is effective and stylish, slipping us nicely into the lives of these characters. Their apartment feels lived-in and their morning chaos feels natural. I like how claustrophobic the camera work feels when Ruy is coming on too strong with Rebeca at work, and there’s a neat little breakout monologue from Julia about the history of marriage, complete with accompanying graphics, that feels like a more cynical version of the type of flourish you might find in a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film. I love this line: “That’s the thing. Marriage, by institutionalizing love, killed it.”

First impressions:

Recommend?

In General – I think I would. The first episode gets the series off to a strong start and introduces the characters well.

Diego Luna – Yeah. This show was my first look as Luna’s work as a director, and he does a really nice job with it.

Warnings

Language, sexual content/references, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements (including sexual harassment.)

The Substance (2024, R)

This Best Picture nominee is wild. For the most part, it’s a fascinating weird and disturbing, but in my view, things go off the rails in the third act—that retroactively colors my impression of the film as a whole. Still, I can’t deny that it’s very interesting and inventive, and it’s wonderfully well crafted.

What’s It About?

In her heyday, Elizabeth Sparkle was a Hollywood sensation. But now, she’s just turned 50, and the world seems to have no use for her anymore. After getting dropped from a long-running fitness show gig, she receives a tip about the Substance, a mysterious injection that allows her to share her life with a second self: “younger, more beautiful, more perfect.” “Sue” is born, and Elizabeth hopes to have a second chance through her, but not everything is smooth sailing with her new and improved version.

Who’s in It?

Demi Moore gives a definite tour de force as Elizabeth. She’s a woman who’s been broken down by a system that unceremoniously toss her out after it was done with her, and she’s at the point where she’ll do anything to hold onto her fading star. Moore serves up horror, dark comedy, and pure rage. Meanwhile, Margaret Qualley plays Sue—I see from IMDb that I’ve seen her in a few things, most notably The Leftovers. She’s very good as well. Her role isn’t as demanding as Moore’s, but she navigates making Sue her own character while imbuing her with an essential “Elizabeth-ness.” Dennis Quaid also appears in the film, chewing up scenery as Elizabeth’s boorish, sleazy producer.

What’s It Nominated For?

The Substance was nominated for five Oscars:

·        Best Picture

·        Best Leading Actress – Demi Moore

·        Best Director

·        Best Original Screenplay

·        Best Hair & Makeup

What Do I Love About It?

·        The design elements are so good. Great use of color, and I love the stark appearance of all the promotion and packaging related to the Substance.

·        One of the most interesting aspects of the premise is Elizabeth’s own body doesn’t become temporarily younger under the effects of the Substance. Rather, a young body comes out of her own—Elizabeth’s body is comatose while Sue’s moves through the world and vice versa. All the instructions given to her about the Substance are incredibly clear that 1) both versions are just parts of a single entity and 2) in order to use the Substance successfully, the two bodies need to be in perfect balance, trading off consciousness every seven days. But as the film goes on, it’s harder and harder for both bodies to see it that way. While Elizabeth is initially thrilled, eagerly marking all the “Sue” days on the calendar, it doesn’t take long for her to resent Sue. Meanwhile, Sue doesn’t feel like she should have to give up her own consciousness for the sake of Elizabeth, who she thinks is just wasting the days she gets.

·        This film is also an interesting way to look at the body-image struggles of being an aging actress through a sci-fi/horror lens. Even before she takes the Substance, Elizabeth is haunted by her younger self. She’s still beautiful, obviously, but the world is filled with photos and videos from when she was “younger, more beautiful, more perfect.” Sue is just an externalization of the psychological minefield she was already navigating.

·        It’s a disturbing film to watch, with tons of body horror and disgusting imagery. That extends, oddly, to how characters are shown eating and drinking. It’s especially true with Dennis Quaid’s character, and we’re treated to revolting shots like a scene of him scarfing down prawns, complete with close-ups of his greasy mouth and the ever-increasing pile of discarded tails. As gross as it is, though, I actually like that aspect of the filmmaking. It highlights how Elizabeth and her body have been treated by Hollywood. When she was in its favor, the industry gorged ravenously on her, and now that she’s gotten older, it’s chewed her up and spit her out. The specific visual techniques are very different, but it sort of reminds me of the opening credits for Dexter. There, the images of Dexter having breakfast and getting ready for the day are filmed in such a way that these mundane acts feel menacing, whereas with The Substance, they feel grotesque.

Warnings

Disturbing imagery, graphic violence, sexual content, language, drinking/smoking, and strong thematic elements (including sexual harassment.)