“Emilia Pérez” is a film about a Mexican lawyer who has to help a cartel boss retire and transition into a woman. The film was quite a hit with critics, earning 13 Oscar nominations and 10 Golden Globe Nominations. However, if you look closely at what the audiences think, it’s barely a hit.
It’s not rare for critics and audiences to disagree. Many times, critics have a disconnect from what the average person finds entertaining. In the case of “Emilia Pérez,” critics have given it a 75% rate on Rotten Tomatoes, while fans have given it a 25%. On Letterboxd, fans gave it only 2.4/5 stars.
So what happened for this stark difference in ratings to occur? One of the bigger reasons is that fans find the film offensive to what actual trans people have to go through. It is clear to see that out of all the 5-star-reviews on this movie, none of them were made by trans people.
Besides the lack of representations, fans find that for a musical, none of its songs are good. The song “La Vaginoplastia” is heavily criticized by fans for its lack of lyrical depth and accurate representation.
Fan reviews on Letterboxed reveal how hated this movie is amongst audiences, “Never in my life have I seen so much prejudice in a single movie; I can’t believe how this is nominated for awards. It’s a shame that many people support this type of movie.” @gingerbnk commented.
The top review on Letterboxd was given by a user @James(Schafrillas), and it read, “Impressive! A musical with zero (0) good songs! If Selena Gomez gets nominated for an Oscar for this performance I am keying the Academy’s cars.”
Yet, critics like Adam Graham from The Detroit News are saying things like, “‘Emilia Pérez’ is constantly shaking things up, and it’s bursting with ideas and creativity that make other movies look like they’re moving at half speed.”
If this film wins at the Oscars this year, it will prove that the academy is not concerned with what the audiences and consumers enjoy. Their win will further enforce the idea that the academy awards are ‘rigged’.
