December 27, 2024
Big Gay Movie Roundup: 13 Notable Films from 2024
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 16 MIN.
Emilia Pérez
One of the year's most surprising films is based on an opera that, in turn, is based on a novel. The story is boldly refreshing: A Mexican drug lord named Juan "Manitas" Del Monte fakes his own death in order to transition in secret and adopt a new identity as a woman. Even more of stunner: It's a musical!
Zoe Saldaña plays Rita, the lawyer that Del Monte employs to scout out potential gender affirmation clinics for the covert surgery, and she proves her chops as a singer (as she has proven talents in so many other ways, from sci-fi fantasy in the "Avatar" films to action heroine in the series "Lioness"). Meantime, transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón does amazing work both as Del Monte and the title character.
The film has won accolades across the board, with the exception of some in the LGBTQ+ community who have voiced criticism of Emilia's depiction. Controversies notwithstanding, "Emilia Pérez" is a cinematic achievement, and one of the year's standouts.
"Emilia Pérez" is streaming at Netflix.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
