A musical, pulpy crime thriller, 'Emilia Pérez' swings for the fences

There is so much going on in "Emilia Pérez," the audacious musical/melodrama/crime-thriller from filmmaker Jacques Audiard, it's impossible not to appreciate the sheer ambition of it all.

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There is obvious craft and moments of true transcendence, beauty and horror. Set around Mexico City, this is a movie about family, about ambition, about the possibility of change, cartels, human disappearances, gender-affirmation, money and corruption.

Sometimes the characters break into fantastical musical numbers: Some are filled with rage, others with joy and hope. Other times the songs come out in barely a whisper. And yet even with all that life and color and passion on screen, there's a distinct rift between all those big emotions that the characters are cycling through and what the audience is feeling, which is practically nothing. It's almost as if "Emilia Pérez" forgot to invite us along for the ride.