Emilia Perez: Netflix viewers were amazed by the new Selena Gomez film

A new musical crime thriller on Netflix starring Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña has completely stunned viewers, with verdicts ranging from “boring” to “movie of the year.”

Emilia Perez named the most controversial film of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and released on Netflix on November 13th.

In the Jacques Audiard-directed film, Karla Sofía Gascón plays the title character, a leader of the Mexican drug cartel who undergoes gender confirmation surgery to medically transition.

Perez recruits a courageous lawyer, played by Saldaña, to help her carry out the trial, while her wife, played by Gomez, and children are relocated to Switzerland for their safety.

The ambitious film currently holds a positive review on Rotten Tomatoes, but judging by the reaction on social media, it was extremely disconcerting.

One particular scene, in which Saldana uses a song to explain the process of gender reassignment surgery, has already gone viral, with more than 4 million views at the time of writing.

The person who uploaded it wrote: “THIS IS NOT A REAL MOVIE.” They later added: “I'm only 20 minutes in and this is the second time I've had to pause the movie just to laugh, because oh my god.”

Another critic called it “the dullest, most generic crime drama imaginable, with the occasional insane musical number thrown in.”

A third person said: “A terribly miscalculated mix of creative choices in poor taste to appear 'important' and 'sensitive'.”

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One viewer was much more positive: “The film was a unique mix of comedy, crime and musical elements that worked together in completely unexpected ways.” The themes of identity and transformation were handled wonderfully.”

Another person said that while the movie is still “Bats,” it's still “in the context of the movie.” I kind of liked what it did and the story it told.”

In a review on Out ofMexican trans film critic Mey Rude said: Emilia Perez is not only one of the best trans films you will ever see, but also one of the most unique and brilliant films of the year.”

At Cannes, Gascón and her co-stars shared the best actress award, which she accepted.

Gascón is now widely expected to be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.

Emilia Perez is now available to watch on Netflix.