Contentious 'Emilia Pérez' Leads Queer Titles at This Year's Oscar Nominations

The queer criticism of "Emilia Pérez" comes from it being a "profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman," according to an essay published by GLAAD earlier this year. While noting the film's success with critics and with the Cannes judges (it won the Jury Award for Best Film and a Best Actress nod shared by Gascón, Saldaña and Selena Gomez), the essay contends "critics who are focused on the film's trans representation tell a very different story"; and go on to quote a number of them. Here is a sample:

"'Emilia Pérez's' screenplay is so cisgender it's almost satirical. In fact, its the single biggest indicator of Audiard's gender identity. He might as well have the word "cis" tattooed on his forehead," writes Amelia Hansford in PinkNews.

In an open conversation about the film, trans critics for Them James Factor and Fran Tirado argue as to the film's worthlessness. "Anyway, I think 'Emilia Pérez' is symptomatic of a trend I've noticed in filmmaking in the first half of this decade (oh God): movies that are just OK or actively bad, but come dressed in all the trappings of 'prestige.' I probably would have adored 'Emilia Pérez' if it had actually been a schlocky B movie (and committed to being that) instead of a glossy production that then gets stuck somewhere between camp and self-seriousness," writes Factor. Tirado compares the film to "Mrs. Doubtfire," writing that the films have the "same plot" and then adds: "It is an idea of transness so completely from the cis imagination. [emphasis added] If the film had instead realized, "No, Emilia really is the villain," and she kept on with her bad behavior, maybe murdered more people, spun out of control, fed her own absurdity – now that's the movie I signed up for!"

And Kendall Cunningham writing in Vox headlines with "'Emilia Pérez' is a regressive movie that thinks it's woke. It will probably win an Oscar." She then writes: "Still, 'Emilia Pérez's' presence in the Oscars race isn't exactly a shock, given that it falls neatly into a category of movies the white Hollywood establishment loves to celebrate: mawkish stories about people on society's margins that allow viewers to feel socially aware through their consumption, without challenging of any of the stereotypes and political messaging presented in them. Could 'Emilia Pérez' become this year's 'Crash?'"