I feel like someone is playing a joke on me because this is barely a coherent movie, let alone a potential Oscar contender. First thing is first, this movie is a full-blown musical. Maybe it's on me for not realizing that, but none of the buzz surrounding this movie really highlighted that aspect. I am not opposed to musicals as such, but the first half of this movie is almost constantly characters breaking into song. The second half has a few more natural scenes of action and dialogue, but a lot of this movie is not that. All the dialogue is delivered in this breathy whisper and staccato rhythm, even if there isn't a dance scene involved. The result is that the movie never truly feels naturalistic. Indeed, the musical numbers are often very exaggerated in terms of choreography, with very jerky and extreme movements. The camerawork is also extremely stylized, swiveling dramatically through the dance with flashy cinematography and lighting. Honestly, it can look excellent at times. However, it's impossible to engage with the movie properly due to how immersion-breaking all the songs are. This isn't endemic to all musicals. Often times, the lyrics in the songs are heartfelt and deep, the choreography aiming for a certain type of visual storytelling. In attempting to be so bold and audacious with its stylization, the movie eschews focusing on this type of storytelling. The dialogue is laughably bad, and the choreography is not aligned with the characterization or plot of the movie at all. Zoe's acting as Rita might be well-done, but I barely understood Rita's motivations or struggles. The movie is attempting to make some sort of message surrounding criminal violence in Mexico, but it's completely lost. Most alarmingly, it feels like the trans message within the movie almost feels as if the movie is treating a trans awakening as a way to escape your old life less than an actual identity struggle for the main character. I do think the movie does have some interesting concepts around Emilia's personal struggles with her prior family, but it struggles to make the viewer care. If you want to watch a bunch of admittedly well-shot music videos, this might be an okay watch for you. However, if you are looking for a good story or characters or themes, I would look elsewhere.