The film stars Zoe Saldana as Rita, a lawyer forcibly recruited by a crime boss, Manitas, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, who wants to undergo gender-confirming surgery to become a woman. She emerges as Emilia Pérez, but will not give up a connection to her wife, Jessi, played by Selena Gomez, and her children.

The ambitious “Emilia Pérez” and its star-studded cast met with a fizzle at the box office and mounting criticisms that it was a not-so-faithful portrayal of Mexico that glamorizes the violence

Oscar-nominated in 13 categories, Jacques Audiard's musical does not reflect the reality of the country in which it is supposed to take place, according to some.