Credit Netflix for venturing into areas of film distribution where traditional studios fear to tread. Most of the major studios seem reliant on swinging for the fences by generating sequels, prequels and brand extensions. It is somewhat easy to understand why, the risks of failure are pretty high and with many big budget films eventually recouping their production and marketing costs the major studios have boxed themselves into a corner.
Mostly gone from the studios’ slates are the risky films that do not leverage existing intellectual property, but are instead based on an original screenplay or a previously unfilmed book.
Along comes “Emilia Pérez” with a log line that never elsewhere would’ve made it to a preliminary production meeting, much less a senior studio executive for green lighting.
The old adage is that “no one gets fired in Hollywood for saying no.” This strategy has been upended at Netflix. I don’t track closely the stock value of studios, but it is safe to bet that Netflix has upended that calculus as well.
So what is this film about? The summary (or just about any version) is along the lines of Mexican lawyer chasing cartel criminals decides he should become a woman. And oh, by the way, it’s a musical.
Credit the ambitious cast of Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez to take us through this audacious film. Saldana is on an amazing roll, with standout turns in the “Avatar” films and the glorious Taylor Sheridan series “Lioness.” And speaking of series, many folks have upped their appreciation for Gomez as a result of “Only Murders in the Building.”
All that said, I was eventually left non-plussed. I generally give more weight the greater the ambition, and this ranks high in ambition. But the execution of the final film is over wrought and brought down by the weight of trying to be too many things at once. My Spanish speaking colleague winced at the accents.
Again, a big tip o’ the hat to Netflix for giving this a greenlight. Let’s hope they maintain the attitude.
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