El Mal
| "El Mal" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Camille | |
| from the album Emilia Pérez | |
| Genre | Rap rock[1] |
| Length | 3:39 |
| Label | Sony Masterworks |
| Composer(s) | |
| Lyricist(s) |
|
| Music video | |
| "El Mal" on YouTube | |
"El Mal" (lit. transl. "The Evil") is a song composed by Clément Ducol, Camille Dalmais and Jacques Audiard for the 2024 French film Emilia Pérez. It is performed by Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Dalmais. In the context of the film, "El Mal", a rap rock song, discusses the hypocrisy of criminals contributing to the nonprofit organization founded by Emilia Pérez, which is dedicated to helping people.
Along with "Mi Camino", another song featured in the film, "El Mal" received multiple film award-related nominations. It won the Best Original Song at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. It received an Academy Award nomination in the eponymous category at the 97th Academy Awards. Additionally, Saldaña received a Hollywood Music in Media Award for her performance during the musical number.
Background
[edit]Emilia Pérez is a 2024 French musical film. The plot revolves around the titular character, originally named Juan "Manitas" Del Monte, a drug lord from Monterrey (both roles portrayed by Karla Sofía Gascón). Manitas contacts Rita Mora Castro (played by Zoe Saldaña), an underappreciated attorney living in Mexico City, seeking her help to disappear and transition into a woman. Manitas is also married to Jessi (played by Selena Gomez), with whom he has two children. Rita completes the task, and Manitas is reported dead, while Jessi and the children are exiled to Lausanne, Switzerland, "for security reasons". Four years later, in London, Emilia contacts Rita again, requesting her assistance in bringing back her children. Jessi and the children are told that returning to Mexico is safe and that Emilia, Manitas' cousin, will welcome them into her home.
Emilia convinces Rita to stay in Mexico, offering to cover her expenses. One day, they visit a tianguis, where they meet a mother searching for her missing son. Emilia uses her contacts to gather information about him so the mother can find closure. They eventually locate his body in a mass grave. Moved by her children's longing for their father, Emilia creates a nonprofit organization called La Lucecita, supported by other remorseful cartel members. The organization receives donations, some of which come from dangerous and corrupt individuals—Emilia's only contacts when founding the organization. The musical number "El Mal" reflects on this situation.
Composition
[edit]"El Mal" was composed during the pre-production with Camille performing a rough scratch.[2] After the duo met Saldaña, she helped them by providing the right arrangement for the music. Saldaña's version consisted of a fusion of genres but with an electronic arrangement, which begins with a "rapid-fire nonsense representation of [Bob Dylan's 1965 song] 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'" and a "more funky, more ironic, kind of Talking Heads" ending with a hip-hop tune.[1][2] Audiard, however, felt that the song should be more acoustic and rougher. They then redid the song with a live rock band, that suited Saldaña's vocals. Camille added that Saldaña had a "super rhythmical and sharp voice" which suited her character and the song as well.[2] "El Mal" was deciphered as a driving condemnation of murderers, politicians who contributed to the drug cartel, and the victims' perils were described in the song lyrics, which Camille, repeating those lyrics over and over and "felt like throwing up". Ducol further described the context of the song, adding:[1]
"What I like in 'El Mal' is that we are talking about things that are quite harsh, and all of a sudden, we find ourselves before a true musical number, and we understand we are no longer in reality-based cinema. There's dancing, and there's singing, and there's jumping up and down on tables, and all of the other characters become like puppets in Japanese [theatre]. The viewer gains awareness of the story at a deeper level".[1]
Critical reception
[edit]Stephanie Zacharek mentioned in Time that the musical number is inspired by Bollywood films, with its theme highlighting the hypocrisy of donors attending a benefit dinner meant to help eradicate the crimes they commit,[3] an opinion shared by her colleague Lucy Ford.[4] Similarly, Michael Ordoña from the Los Angeles Times describes "El Mal" as a "showstopping, rock-rap denunciation of poisonous hypocrisy".[1]
Amelia Hansford from PinkNews praised the musical theme's cinematography as well as Saldaña's performance, but criticized that the scene only "mask[s] the film's failings at tackling serious themes it's ill-equipped to handle".[5] Josh Kerwick noted in his Star Observer review that "El Mal" exemplifies the film's "few highs and many lows". He pointed out that the musical number reveals the corruption surrounding the film's plot for the first time, but following the performance, it is never addressed again.[6]
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Academy Awards | Best Original Song | Pending | [7] |
| 2024 | Astra Creative Arts Awards | Best Original Song | Nominated | [8] |
| 2024 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Original Song | Pending | [9] |
| 2024 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Song | Pending | [10] |
| 2024 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | Won | [11] |
| 2024 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Song in a Feature Film | Nominated | [12][13] |
| Song – Onscreen Performance (Film)[a] | Won | |||
| 2024 | Satellite Awards | Best Original Song | Nominated | [14] |
| 2024 | Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards | Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production | Pending | [15] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Zoe Saldaña was the recipient.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Ordoña, Michael (19 November 2024). "It's hard to pin down the music of 'Emilia Pérez'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Flores, Griselda (4 November 2024). "How the 'Unbelievable' Story of 'Emilia Pérez' Became 'Believable' Through Compelling Musical Numbers". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Zacharek, Stephanie (13 November 2024). "Review: Emilia Pérez Is an Exuberant Ode to Human Possibility". Time. Archived from the original on 16 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Ford, Lucy (24 January 2025). "How Emilia Pérez Became a Divisive Oscar Frontrunner". Time. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ Hansford, Amelia (7 January 2025). "As a trans woman, this is why I think Emilia Pérez absolutely sucks". PinkNews. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ^ "Review: Emilia Pérez Is A Musical That's Sadly Too Dull To Be Provocative". Star Observer. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (23 January 2025). "Oscars: Full List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ Neglia, Matt (9 December 2024). "The 2024 Hollywood Creative Alliance's (HCA) Astra Film And Creative Arts Award Winners". Next Best Picture. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (19 December 2024). "'Nickel Boys' Leads 2025 Black Reel Awards Nominations; 'Piano Lesson' Close Second". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (5 December 2024). "Shōgun Leads with Six Critics Choice Awards TV Nominations – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (9 December 2024). "Golden Globes Nominations Revealed: Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ Grein, Paul (21 November 2024). "'Emilia Pérez' and Hans Zimmer Are Top Winners at 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Willman, Chris (21 November 2024). "Hans Zimmer and the Scores and Songs of 'Emilia Pérez' and 'Wild Robot' Lead Winners' List at 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Erik (16 December 2024). "2024 International Press Academy Satellite Awards Nominations: 'The Brutalist,' 'Shōgun' Lead". AwardsWatch. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (18 December 2024). "Society Of Composers & Lyricists Cues Up 2025 SCL Awards Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved 18 December 2024.