On American Netflix, “Emilia Pérez” divides spectators and critics

Award-winning at Cannes and contender in the Oscar race, Jacques Audiard's queer musical landed on November 13 among the platform's Anglo-Saxon subscribers. And provokes very radical reactions…

Aafter having divided the Cannes festival-goers last May (which did not prevent him from leaving with the jury prize and an acting prize for his actresses), Emilia Perez polarizes the Anglo-Saxon public. “ The best film of the year », « nonsense”, “this thing is incredible! “, « very problematic »… Made available this November 13 on Netflix in the United States and Great Britain, the baroque (or bloated, depending) saga by Frenchman Jacques Audiard, on the gender transition of the baron of a Mexican cartel ( Karla Sofia Gascón), aroused contrary emotions among Internet users. They particularly struggled with the passage where the lawyer played by Zoe Saldaña discovers, in dance and music, the different stages of a sex change operation. “ Rhinoplasty! Vaginoplasty! » sung in chorus: two days after the launch of the film, the clip of this scene had already been shared more than 4 million times on the networks…

Stylistic excess and the treatment of transidentity are also at the center of the critical conversation surrounding the film in the Anglo-Saxon press. “A reductive vision of the trans experience”headlined this week the British newspaper The Independent. “An unforgettable debacle”abounded the American site IndieWire, while also across the Atlantic, Time magazine applauded “an exuberant ode to human possibilities”and that the very popular media USA Today greeted “ the most original film of 2024 ».

An asset for Netflix in the Oscar race?

These radical positions will not a priori offend Jacques Audiard, who claimed in October in an interview with AFP: “ This is a film that must be embarrassing. » Emilia Perez had just been chosen to be the French contender for the Oscar for best foreign film – the list of nominees will be revealed in January. In this race for rewards, the stormy reception ofEmilia Perez in the United States could serve its interests and those of Netflix, which also submitted it in the categories of best film, best director and best actress. For the platform in search of artistic legitimacy, the stakes are high: if it continues to unleash passions, the UFO from France could earn it the Oscar for best film after which it has been chasing in vain for a long time, and that its rival Apple TV + won in 2022 with CODA.