‘Emilia Pérez’ (2024): Fans vs. Critics — Who Holds The Final Word In This Controversial Debate?

From Selena Gomez’s widely criticized performance¹ to audiences’ outrage at the film’s rave reviews, French director Jacques Audiard‘s Emilia Pérez ² was not only one of 2024’s most ambitious projects but also one of its most controversial. A musical-thriller-drama hybrid, the film achieved a solid 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes³ and made history at Cannes, where it won the unprecedented Best Actress Award for all four leading ladies: Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz, as well as the jury award.

Yet, despite its critical acclaim and groundbreaking achievements, the film faced massive fan backlash for cultural inaccuracies and lack of relatability.
The interplay between critical acclaim, fan reception, and box office metrics reveals the multifaceted factors that ultimately define a film’s success.

“The Emilia Pérez Paradox:” A Clash Of Perspectives On Success

A Mexican-French co-production, Emilia Pérez tells the story of Mexican drug lord Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Karla Sofia Gascón), who recruits worn-down lawyer Rita Mora-Castro (Zoe Saldaña) to not only help him disappear but to also help him transition into what he’s always secretly dreamed of being: a woman. (Hence, she helps him fake his death and transition from Manitas into Emilia Pérez.) From the get-go, the film’s premise sounds a bit bonkers and implausible, but still, it is intriguing. Yet, audiences are left with many questions that they hope will later be resolved, but for the most part, aren’t.

Having attended one of the film’s festival premieres at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival this past October, whispers of confusion, dissatisfaction, and even anger could be heard all around the room as the credits rolled.

• “Why did he want to become a woman in the first place?”
• “What was this movie even about?”
• “What was the point of this movie?”
• “How could this have won such prestigious awards?”

and the most prevalent observation:

• “How is this a movie about Mexico and Mexican culture with no actual Mexicans in it?”

“A Tale Of Two Receptions:” Diverging Views On Emilia Pérez

While a plethora of questions, concerns, and complaints were raised by audiences regarding the film’s authenticity, themes, and Selena Gomez’s performance, a mountain of praise was raised by critics who highlighted the film’s groundbreaking performances, social criticism, and unique style/format.

Box office plays a major part in the equation as well, and in Emilia Pérez’s case, it did not play in its favor. The film was reportedly shot on a €25 million budget (EUR), while only earning an underwhelming $9.6 million (USD) globally.

What did play in the film’s favor, however, was its reputation within the professional film community, with Avatar⁴ director James Cameron calling it “Not like any other film that’s ever been made.”⁵ Plus, there are the film’s historical Cannes wins and 2025 Golden Globes achievements, scoring two Best Picture awards (Comedy and Non-English-language)⁶, as well as being France’s 2025 Academy Awards⁷ submission.

Now, with so many contradictory factors and opinions, this raises the question of who, if anyone, gets the final say in determining the film’s success.

“In Defense Of The Fans:” Championing Audience Perspectives

Fans, festival audiences, and social media users⁸ alike had one common complaint: none of the film’s main actresses were Mexican, although their characters were supposed to be.

With the exception of Selena Gomez’s character Jessi Del Monte, the film’s main characters were supposed to be the face and voice for the harsh reality women face in Mexico’s misogynistic culture. And, yes, while their performances were compelling and their characters helped bring representation to these issues, neither Gascón nor Saldaña are Mexican, being Spanish and Dominican-American, respectively.

This defining factor was completely brushed off by Audiard, who not being a native Spanish speaker himself, ended up compromising the film’s authenticity by overlooking a simple, yet crucial detail. Fans felt a similar type of way regarding Gomez’s performance, as they not only noticed her Spanish was completely off,⁹ but that she simply did not speak the language.

In this case, much more than authenticity was compromised, as her performance was bashed by fans, who noted she did not seem to comprehend what she was saying. Thus, her performance came across as superficial and of course, artificial. It wasn’t only fans who took note of this, however, as even Mexican comedian Eugenio Derbez and critic Gaby Meza called Selena’s performance “indefensible.”¹⁰

But it was not just the film’s authenticity issues that rubbed audiences the wrong way. Fans also noted completely missing the point of the story, as it struggled to find its focus within too many characters, subplots, and no clear theme or message. The main character’s inexplicable transition and sudden change of personality from ruthless drug dealer to charitable feminist also left viewers baffled, waiting for an explanation for this development that simply never came.

Finally and simply put, fans could not understand why this movie was a musical and what the songs offered for the plot, especially since Gomez had a minimal and underwhelming presence in the film’s musical numbers. Not only was this a wasted asset, but a massive missed opportunity, and of course, there are the film’s obvious concerns: representation issues with the film’s trans character as well as the overuse of drug-dealer narratives for Mexican films.

“In Defense Of The Critics:” Upholding The Value Of Critical Insight

That said, it is undeniable that despite its flaws, Emilia Pérez is a piece of bold and unique storytelling that defies genres, breaks barriers, and provides powerful social criticism. While it might have one too many subplots and not follow a traditional film structure, like many independent cinema pieces, Emilia Pérez is meant to be a character study. Hence, the name and focus of the film. Character studies don’t always follow traditional plot rules, and focus more on the protagonists’ development, rather than relying heavily on external action.

As brilliantly put by Variety’s Peter Debruge¹¹, this is a film about duality, imperfection, and redemption. It’s meant to be messy, confusing, and an emotional rollercoaster of doubts and fears. This is not only what constitutes Emilia’s character arc and psyche, but also how it’s represented in film for audiences to understand.

The noise, confusion, and overwhelming thoughts the film causes with its heightened audiovisual triggers and unusual storytelling are all part of Emilia’s arc, which we are meant to experience with her. No stories or paths are linear, nor are they always perfectly laid out on a silver platter. That’s what the essence of Emilia Pérez is all about.

The film’s songs are a perfect embodiment of this, particularly Gomez’s interpretation of “Mi Camino,” which translates to my path or my way, and pretty much sums up the film’s whole point in three minutes or less. “Papa,” sung by Emilia and her son, is another notable and highly emotional performance that heightens Emilia’s character development and adds layers of depth to the film’s themes and relationships, proving the score to be a necessary and even enriching asset.

“The Closing Verdict:” Unpacking The Emilia Pérez Debate

So… what truly constitutes the success of a film? Is it its box office earnings? Fan reception? Critical acclaim? All of the above?

The truth is, if art were truly that objective, there would be no room for opinion; no cult classics;¹² guilty pleasures;¹³ fan favorite B-movies.¹⁴ Leprechaun¹⁵ would not have an eight-movie franchise;¹⁶ Adam Sandler would not have a career; John Waters would be dead-broke; Nacho Libre would not be the beloved family gem that it is in the eyes of nostalgic movie lovers. What some critics might find groundbreaking, some fans might perceive as a snooze fest.

What might be the Oscars’ loss is in fact, the Razzies’ win. This is why we not only have the Critics Choice Awards, but also the People’s Choice Awards, and the Kids’ Choice Awards, and every year, the verdict for their films of the year could not be more different.

Emilia Pérez is a prime example of these differences. It’s flawed, it’s messy, and for the most part highly unrealistic, but it’s also touching, gut-wrenching, and an audiovisual storytelling masterclass.

Much like Emilia’s character, it is imperfect, contradictory, and hard to decipher. But then again, that is the beauty of her character, the film, and the ever-evolving world of art and cinema.

References

1. Yahoo Entertainment. “Selena Gomez Accused of Butchering Spanish Accent in Upcoming Musical ‘Emilia Pérez’.” Yahoo Entertainment, October 24, 2024. ↩︎
2. Emilia Pérez. Directed by Jacques Audiard. France: Pathé Films, 2024. ↩︎
3. Rotten Tomatoes. “Emilia Pérez Reviews.” Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed January 2, 2025. ↩︎
4. Avatar. Directed by James Cameron. Los Angeles: 20th Century Fox, 2009. ↩︎
5. “James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd on ‘The Terminator’ at 40! | The Big Picture.” YouTube. Accessed January 4, 2025.  ↩︎
6. Lang, Brent. “Golden Globes 2025: ‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘Shōgun’ Take Top Honors.” Variety, January 15, 2025. ↩︎
7. Keslassy, Elsa. “Oscars: France Selects Jacques Audiard’s Transgender Musical ‘Emilia Perez’ for Best International Feature Film Race.” Deadline, September 22, 2024. ↩︎
8. Dodson, P. Claire. “Selena Gomez Responds to Criticism of Her Spanish in Emilia Pérez.” Elle, October 25, 2024. ↩︎
9. Stewart, Chelsea. “Selena Gomez Responds to Criticism of Her Spanish Accent in Emilia Pérez.” BuzzFeed, October 25, 2024. ↩︎
10. Hawkins, Elizabeth. “Selena Gomez Reacts to Criticism over ‘Indefensible’ Spanish in Netflix’s Emilia Pérez.” Page Six, December 8, 2024. ↩︎
11. Debruge, Peter. “‘Emilia Pérez’ Review: Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña Shine in Jacques Audiard’s Genre-Bending Musical.” Variety, June 3, 2024. ↩︎
12. IMDb. “Top 100 Greatest Cult Films.” IMDb, 2012. ↩︎
13. IMDb. “Top 50 Best Guilty Pleasure Movies.” IMDb, 2021. ↩︎
14. IMDb. “B-Movies.” IMDb, 2012. ↩︎
15. Leprechaun. Directed by Mark Jones. Los Angeles: Trimark Pictures, 1993. ↩︎
16. Rotten Tomatoes Editors. “Leprechaun Series Ranked: Bad to Worst.” Rotten Tomatoes. ↩︎