EMILIA PEREZ

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens in Mexico City. A lawyer named Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana) is handling a case involving a public figure, Gabriel Mendoza (Emiliano Hasan), who is standing trial for the murder case of his wife (“El Alegato”). Despite knowing Mendoza is guilty, Rita helps her colleague label the wife’s death as a suicide, allowing Mendoza to get off. Rita privately laments the injustice.

In the bathroom, Rita gets an anonymous call telling her to go to the newsstand in ten minutes to meet a mysterious client. After some reflection (“Todo y Nada”), she does so and gets a bag thrown over her head before she is hauled into a van. Rita is driven out to the desert, where she meets local cartel kingpin Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Karla Sofia Gascon). Rita divulges what she knows of his reputation and history before he tells her why he is hiring her. Manitas wishes to transition from male-to-female and has already begun treatments (“El Encuentro”).

Rita travels to Bangkok to consult with doctors (“La Vaginoplastia”). Manitas sends his thugs to threaten Rita when her progress isn’t fast enough. She meets with a surgeon, Dr. Wasserman (Mark Ivanir), and after a discussion (“Lady”), he agrees to meet with Manitas. He explains his past with gender dysphoria (“Deseo”) while Rita meets Manitas’ wife, Jessi (Selena Gomez). Rita organizes for her and her children with Manitas, Angel and Diego (Gael Murguia-Fur and Tirso Pietriga), to be relocated to Switzerland under new names. After taking a tearful Jessi and the kids to the airport, Rita talks to Manitas, who tells her that her job is done, and she will earn her large sum of money. Rita cries tears of joy.

Manitas stages a fake gang murder to make it look like he has been killed. Jessi hears the news and cries. After undergoing the surgery, Manitas begins to live a new, more authentic life as Emilia Perez.

Four years later, Rita has gotten a makeover and has been enjoying a more comfortable lifestyle in Mexico. She is out for dinner with friends when she is approached by Emilia, who quickly makes Rita realize who she is. Emilia explains to Rita that she has come looking for her again because she wants to reunite with Jessi and their sons (“Por Casualidad”).

Rita arranges for Jessi and the boys to come to Emilia’s home, pretending that she is Manitas’ cousin and an aunt to the boys. While Emilia is happy to see her sons again, Jessi is none too pleased about the setup (“Bienvenida”) to contact an old flame, Gustavo Brun (Edgar Ramirez).

While out at lunch, Rita and Emilia meet a woman who is searching for her missing son. This causes Emilia to reflect on her past criminal life (“Mis Siete Hermanos y Yo”). When she returns home later, she puts one of her sons to bed, and he says that her scent reminds him of his father (“Papa”).

Rita makes deals with imprisoned cartel members to gather information on the locations of mass graves of cartel victims. Many bodies, including the missing son, are identified as Emilia starts a nonprofit, “La Lucecita”, devoted to bringing the victims’ justice (“Para”). With Rita’s help, the nonprofit grows. Meanwhile, Jessi continues her affair with Gustavo and discusses her past with Manitas to Emilia, as she tries to understand how Jessi felt during their time together.

Emilia and Rita organize a gala event for potential donors. Rita points out how many of the guests at the event are criminals and how they are now collecting their money (“El Mal”).

Emilia meets Epifania Flores (Adriana Paz), a woman whose husband’s remains were found by Emilia’s business. After confirming that the man is dead, Epifania gets emotional as she recalls how abusive he was toward her and how she feels safer knowing he is gone. Emilia slips a knife into Epifania’s purse for protection and later begins a romantic relationship with her (“El Amor”).

Rita expresses the state of her personal and professional life to Emilia, who says that the work of the nonprofit would not be possible without her. Rita later sees Jessi in a nightclub with Gustavo (“Mi Camino”). When Jessi announces to Emilia her intentions of moving away with Gustavo and the kids, Emilia reacts aggressively and refers to the children as being her own. Emilia has one of her guys beat Gustavo and give him money to leave Mexico. Jessi leaves with the boys, and Emilia retaliates by cutting off Jessi’s finances, leaving Rita caught in the middle of their quarrel as she must mediate between them.

When Epifania stops by and meets with Rita, they soon find out that Emilia has been kidnapped. Rita later receives three of Emilia’s fingers at her job. She gets in touch with Gustavo, who demands a ransom for Emilia’s return. Rita gathers a team of officers to go to the given location.

The team arrives at the meetup, but Gustavo’s gunmen spot them and begin a shootout. In the middle of it, Emilia reveals to Jessi that she was Manitas as she recounts how they fell in love (“Perdoname”). Jessi is overcome with guilt and remorse, but Gustavo grabs Emilia and stuffs her into the trunk of his car before fleeing the scene with Jessi. After having a change of heart, Jessi orders Gustavo at gunpoint to pull over. They get into a struggle and end up veering off-road where it explodes, killing Emilia, Jessi, and Gustavo.

In the aftermath, Rita assumes guardianship of the boys and mourns Emilia. In Mexico City, Epifania leads a march alongside other citizens in honor of Emilia and the legacy she is leaving behind (“Las Damas Que Pasan”).

Rita Mora Castro is a disillusioned lawyer living in Mexico. Her life changes when she is hired by cartel kingpin Juan "Manitas" Del Monte to undergo gender reassignment surgery to live an authentic life as a woman. After doing her research, Rita gets Manitas in touch with a surgeon before arranging for Manitas' wife Jessi and their sons to be relocated to Switzerland. Manitas fakes his death and becomes Emilia Perez.

Four years later, Rita is living with the money given to her by the cartel before Emilia finds her and asks for her help in being reunited with her sons and Jessi. Emilia then tries to atone for her criminal past and starts a nonprofit devoted to finding and identifying victims of cartel violence. Meanwhile, Jessi begins an affair with an old flame, Gustavo Brun, and Emilia starts a relationship with a woman, Epifania, whose abusive husband was ID-ed among the deceased.

After Jessi announces her intention to leave with Gustavo and the boys, Emilia has Gustavo beaten and threatened to leave the city, while cutting off Jessi's funds. She and Gustavo kidnap Emilia and demand ransom from Rita. She brings a team of officers to get Emilia back, but a shootout occurs. Emilia reveals to Jessi who she really was, leaving Jessi to feel guilty. Gustavo throws Emilia into the trunk of his car and speeds off with Jessi, but they get into a fight and veer the car off-road where it explodes, killing all three of them.

Rita adopts the boys, and Emilia is honored in Mexico City by Epifania and many others.