NETFLIX

EMILIA PEREZ
* * * *
(Crime Story Musical)

When I saw a full-page “Emilia Pérez” ad in the Sunday New York Times, with glowing reviews, I knew this was a movie I had to see.

“Emilia Perez” is like no movie I had ever seen.

It is a gripping story about a macho, murdering Mexican cartel boss who undergoes a sex change.

And it is a musical!

Transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón plays Emilia after her months of operations to completely change her appearance and flee from Mexico, shipping her wife and children off to Switzerland to protect them from rival gangs.

She hires Rita Castro (Zoe Saldana), an unappreciated female lawyer, to secretly take care of all the arrangements, and pays her royally.

Four years have passed, and Emilia misses her children. Rita finds them and brings them to her home.

Emilia wishes to atone for her past life, so with Rita’s help she sets up a foundation to aid the families of the thousands of men who have “disappeared.”

Problems arise between Emilia and her former wife, leading to a tragic ending.

The movie is both an intimate study of a man who becomes a woman and a grandiose, colorful musical.

It is like nothing I have ever seen before.

In both Spanish and English with subtitles.

WARWICK SHOWCASE/AVON

A REAL PAIN
* * ½
(Relationship Comedy/Drama)

Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and starred in this comedy/drama about family relationships.

Eisenberg plays David, a New York City resident, married with one child, who invites his cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin) to travel to Poland to visit their recently deceased grandmother’s childhood home.

Not only do David and Benji live far away from each other, their characters and dispositions are also miles apart.

To make matters interesting, David wishes he were more like Benji (free spirited and spontaneous), while Benji wishes he were more like David (secure and predictable).

Some might call their relationship a love/hate one.

They travel through Poland with four other tourists and a guide, with Benji being “a real pain” at times. Culkin’s is a great acting job, but I have to admit to him getting on my nerves. His constant use of the F word didn’t seem to bother his more conservative traveling companions, but I soon tired of it.

Benji’s mood swings make everyone uncomfortable at times, but David humors him and when each return to their own life, he forgives him.

The scenes of Warsaw and other small Polish towns are a bit dreary, and their visit to a concentration camp is quite somber.

If you are into Eisenberg’s brand of humor and pathos, you may enjoy this one more than I did. (Joyce stayed home.)