Yahoo Lifestyle "Emilia Pérez" Just Earned A Bunch Of Oscar Nominations — Here's Why I'm Worried
Note: This post is an Op-Ed and shares the author's personal views.
We're nearing the climax of the 2025 awards season, which will undoubtedly have fans debating whether or not their favorite films were snubbed.
One film that has managed to dominate this awards season across the board is Emilia Pérez. The Spanish-language French musical crime film (that's a mouthful) is about Juan "Manitas" Del Monte, a Mexican cartel leader who transitions with the help of a lawyer.
Directed and written by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and starring Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez, the film has achieved critical acclaim thanks to the groundbreaking performances of these actors despite the mixed reactions from audiences.
Emilia Pérez became one of the most nominated films for the Golden Globes (10 nominations), taking home four awards for Best Original Song for Camille, Clément Ducol and Jacques Audiard's "El Mal," Best Supporting Actress for Zoe, Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language and Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.
Zoe took home a well-deserved Golden Globe for her role as the lawyer Rita Mora Castro after two decades in the business with memorable roles in some of the highest-earning movies ever, and it mustn't be overlooked.
Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images, / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
In her speech, she said, "My heart is full of gratitude," with tears in her eyes. "All of my fellow nominees, I'm in awe of you. Your strength, your complexity, your undeniable talent. I know that it's a competition, but all I have witnessed is just us showing up for each other and celebrating each other, and it's just so beautiful."
Now, Emilia Pérez has set another surprising record for most Academy Award nominations for a film not in the English language. The film received 13 nominations, more than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) and Roma (2018).
Carlos Somonte / © Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection, / ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Emilia Pérez was nominated for Best Picture, International Feature Film, Director, Original Score, Makeup and Hairstyling, Cinematography, Film Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Sound, Supporting Actress for Zoe, and Best Actress for Karla.
Karla Sofía Gascón, who portrays the cartel leader and the titular character, became the first out trans actor to be nominated for an Oscar. Elliot Page was nominated for Juno in 2008. And while that's surely a moment to celebrate, I would be remiss if I didn't remember that Hollywood's history isn't as "groundbreaking" as this year's award season would suggest.
It's important to note that Academy Awards nominations for Emilia Pérez have been met with criticism from audiences who claim the film is either not good or "offensive" to Mexicans and trans people.
“How did Emilia Pérez get so many nominations” because the Academy loves ‘well-meaning’ paternalistic issue movies that are offensive to every group of people they’re supposedly advocating for
— mary (@theoceanblooms) January 23, 2025
Audiences are very critical of the film regardless of the nominations it continues to receive this awards season.
Perhaps the audience's negative reactions are warranted, considering there are awkward musical scenes like this one where Rita (Zoe) first inquires about the sex change operation for Manitas.
While I don't want to take away from the actors' performances and the filmmakers involved, the discourse is fair, considering awards nominations have a history of propping specific stories up as champions of diversity and representation when that message never fully resonates with the people whom the projects are based upon.
Emilia Perez is Green Book levels of fake progressiveness. People patting themselves on the backs for this form of “allyship” is as a far some can get.
— Caroline Renard (@carolinerenard_) January 23, 2025
For one, Emilia Pérez has been widely lambasted in Mexico, with objections to French director Jacques's lack of research of the actual country to casting director Carla Hool's explanation for not casting local Mexican talent. So, in my opinion, the film's intended triumph for the representation of Mexico is already a big miss without my next point. But, at least it's still giving several Latine actors their overdue flowers — like Zoe, so I guess we're not supposed to complain too much?
For me, as a nonbinary person who works and lives in Hollywood, my biggest concern is not with whether or not Emilia Pérez is a good movie (a conversation for another day) but with how the movie can be potentially used as a moment for the industry to prematurely pat itself on the back.
We're talking about the same industry that put The World According to Garp (1982), Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Crying Game (1992), Boys Don't Cry (1999), Transamerica (2005), Dallas Buyers Club (2013), and The Danish Girl (2016) on a pedestal. These films represented trans folk in stereotypical scenarios or extremely negative portrayals by actors who don't even openly identify as trans, let alone openly LGBTQ+.
But what about Karla? I hope she's recognized for all her brilliant work. But I fear Emilia Pérez will sweep the awards season because people are so misguided on appearing as the "good guys" long enough for a soundbite and tear-jerker speech that they will think the work is done once Emilia Pérez breaks enough records.
I'm still haunted by the reality that in 2002, Halle Berry made history when she was the first Black woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, and she was the last. And, it would be easy to say that perhaps there weren't that many Black women in lead roles since then, but we all know that's a load of crap.
Give me an awards season where Emilia Pérez is not an outlier, a Black sheep, or an unforeseen, unprecedented movie. I don't want a room full of voters to think they're saving some trans or queer person's life by simply voting for this movie when the current US administration is literally stripping away actual rights and livelihood from people who Emilia Pérez is supposed to give a voice to.
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that "called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and policies such as prison assignments," as per Associated Press.
Additionally, NBC News reported that Trump signed a series of executive orders to crack down on immigration, such as allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) the ability to make arrests even "at or near so-called sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals."
Maybe we shouldn't rely on one French-made Mexican musical crime film about a trans woman (with little Mexican involvement and potentially no strong LGBTQ+ involvement) to be the champion of representation, aka "flavor of the week." Let's start giving people of color and LGBTQ+ characters more happy endings in our most awarded movies; then, perhaps we will have a chance to see what a happy ending looks like in our real lives.
And on that note:
I’m telling yall right now Emilia Perez is gonna win big at the Oscar’s and everyone on here is gonna be so mad. the average academy voter is the white family from Get Out
— Skyler Higley (@skyler_higley) January 23, 2025
What are your thoughts on Emilia Pérez? Do you think it'll take home all the Oscars? Let's discuss this in the comments!
The 97th Academy Awards will be hosted by Conan O'Brien and air on March 2 on ABC and Hulu.
You can check out the full list of this year's nominees HERE.
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