On Thursday, film enthusiasts eagerly awaited the results of the Academy’s Oscar nominations, ready to celebrate their favorites or brace for disappointment. Leading the pack with an impressive 13 nominations is Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, a musical that follows a transgender drug lord and a sleuthing lawyer through a series of high-stakes twists.

Nevertheless, the movie’s high praise from the Academy doesn’t seem to be shared among many movie-goers.

Before the Oscar nominations, Emilia Pérez maintained a 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. As of Thursday, that number has plummeted to 31%. On Letterboxd, another film-reviewing platform, its average rating declined from 2.9 to 2.5 between January 6 and January 23. The disparity between critics and audiences has raised questions about the film’s reception, with some attributing the backlash to concerns over representation and cultural authenticity.

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What’s behind this sharp divide between critics and audiences?

Much of the backlash appears to stem from the film’s sudden prominence. Enjoying a film is one thing, but endorsing it as one of the year’s best is another. As the first non-English language film to receive this many Oscar nominations, Emilia Pérez has become a contentious topic in discussions about cultural representation in cinema.

A major source of criticism revolves around the film’s portrayal of Mexican culture. Opponents of the film’s success argue that Emilia Pérez perpetuates harmful stereotypes, and despite being centered on Mexican characters, the majority of the cast is not of Latin descent, supposedly undermining the film’s value as a milestone for Mexican representation.

Further scrutiny has fallen on Audiard himself. The French director, who does not speak Spanish, is accused of trivializing Mexico’s real-life drug cartel violence. Hector Guillén, a cinematographer and producer, voiced his frustration in a biting remark on X, writing, “Almost 500k dead and France decides to do a musical,” a reference to the staggering number of lives lost to cartel-related violence.


There is also a notable disparity in critics’ ratings. Emilia Pérez holds a 76% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes—respectable, but significantly lower than its fellow Oscar contenders. Conclave boasts a 93% approval rating, while Anora and Dune: Part Two both sit at 92%.

Several other communities have piped up to express distaste in the film’s acclaim, including LGBTQ organizations. GLAAD denounced Emilia Pérez as a “step backward for trans representation,” criticizing its approach as coming from an “uninformed” perspective on the transgender experience. Framing the main character’s transition as a moral choice rather than an intrinsic aspect of identity has significantly diminished its resonance with the LGBTQ community.

As the Oscars approach, it’s clear that Emilia Pérez may not be the current crowd favorite, but whether the film’s controversy will overshadow its accolades remains to be seen.