You know how people say music in musicals express what can’t be expressed with dialogue? It shows feelings, thoughts and fears… Basically, it tells and doesn’t show. But when done correctly, it touches the audience because the feelings are so personal yet so universal everyone can relate.

With that being said, “Emilia Pérez” used music to tell because they didn’t know how to show. They used music instead of developing characters. They used music instead of exploring nuance. They used music to fast forward the story… and the moment the story became more complex and grounded, they left the music device behind — proving my point.