In this episode of The Hollywood Beat, Tandy and Reba look at two films — one, a drama with several music interludes, the second, a groundbreaking foreign-language musical.
A Complete Unknown was adapted from Elijah Wald’s 2015 nonfiction book, Bob Dylan Goes Electric. The screenplay was written (along with Jay Cocks) and directed by James Mangold. Timothee Chalamet plays Bob Dylan in this picture which depicts four years in the singer=songwriter’s life beginning when Dylan arrives in New York City. Co-stars include Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and, in a stand out performance, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.
Emilia Perez is a musical unlike anything in this genre ever to hit the big screen. Based on a secondary character in the 2018 French novel Ecoute by Boris Razon, the plot chronicles the life of a Mexican drug kingpin who wants to leave the cartel behind to become a woman. The plan? Hire a lawyer who can find a doctor who will help said kingpin make the transition.
The screenplay was written by French filmmaker Jacque Audiard who also directed the movie. Audiard first visualized the project as an opera — indeed, he developed the story for the stage in four acts before deciding to make a movie instead.
To play the titular role of Emilia, Audiard cast Karla Sofia Gascon who is herself a trans woman. Before transitioning, Gascon was a star in Mexican telenovelas. Audiard chose Zoe Saldana as the lawyer on the hunt for a surgeon. Rounding out the cast are Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramirez.