By Bella Holt, Banner Staff

On January 5, comedian Nikki Glaser stood in front of Hollywood’s biggest names and hosted the 82nd Annual Golden Globes. “Tonight,” she said, “we celebrate the best of film and hold space for television.” Compared to the ultimate flop of last year’s Golden Globes, this year’s ceremony featured an overqualified set of nominees, a slew of heartfelt acceptance speeches, and—shock-ingly—genuinely funny jokes delivered by the host and presenters.

The very first award of the night, “Best Supporting Actress–Motion Picture,” was given to Zoe Saldaña for her work in Netflix’s Emilia Pérez. The film won four awards, and I realized that I simply had to watch the movie to see what the hype was about. So, I curled up with a thick blanket and prepared myself for what the Golden Globes had claimed was the best musical of the year. The movie I saw that night was a lot of things: novel, bold, and occasionally profound, but “Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy” of the year? Not quite.

Emilia Pérez is not necessarily a bad movie—despite its 17% Rotten Tomatoes audience  score. The story follows a drug cartel leader, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, who seeks the help of a lawyer to aid her transition to a woman. She eventually becomes an activist for her ex-cartel’s victims. Performing Arts Teacher Mr. Johnson found the movie “powerful and engaging and worthy of conversation,” especially highlighting Gascón’s “powerful, complex, and multilayered performance.”

Despite its impressive plot, I believe that Emilia Pérez is a movie so caught up in its artistic vision that it fails to tastefully execute its complex story. Mina Feldman ’25 commented that “every scene was like a different genre…one minute, we’re in a drama, the next minute, we’re in a comedy, and the next minute, we’re in a musical.” Because of this excessive “whiplash,” the movie became a fever dream during which I kept grasping to keep up with the plot. For example, it attempts to convey a profound message with its Golden-Globe-winning song “El Mal” about the tension between Emilia’s criminal history and her current activism. However, its significance is entirely diminished since the film neglects to address the tension again.

Considering the originality of the story, Emilia Pérez’s recognition from the Golden Globes is incredibly surprising; Mr. Johnson theorizes that “the boldness of its style demanded attention.” Regardless of the reason for its success, Emilia Pérez’s wins at the Golden Globes indicate that Hollywood may finally be opening up to these kinds of unconventional stories.  ☐

Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Pérez, photo from The Seattle Times