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There was a period there where — despite its more controversial tendencies (which is to say, yes, it’s more than a little troublesome, if not downright disastrous, with regards to racism and gender issues) — Netflix’s Emilia Pérez was seen as being the movie to beat at the upcoming Academy Awards. And then the movie’s lead, Karla Sofía Gascón, had to face up to some of her own ugly past, which changed the conversation significantly. But before the bubble burst, it’s worth wondering: what made people so excited?

Could it have been that people just were thrilled to see Zoe Saldana get a chance to shine without having to get into action movie mode? Were we all just distracted by the movie’s promise versus its execution…? I have a different thought, however: I think it’s the movie’s musical numbers — and the unusual, surreal musical stylings of songwriter Camille — that pulled the wool over so many people’s eyes. If there’s one thing I think people should take away from Emilia Pérez, absent all the absolute nonsense surrounding it, it’s this: Camille has a record backing up the plaudits this movie received.

That’s right. "Has a record"; I went for the musical pun.

This is For Your Consideration, in which we try to come to terms with the inescapable fact that, honestly, there’s too much out there to have time to watch, read, or hear everything — by making some suggestions about things that you might have overlooked but would enjoy, anyway. Think of it as recommendations from a well-meaning friend.

Ahead of Emilia Pérez, Camille’s previous movie collaborators included Disney, Fantastic Four composer Michael Giacchino, and Dune’s Hans Zimmer

Here’s the thing; if you’re a fan of Pixar movies, chances are high you’re already familiar with Camille. I mean… you’ve heard this, right…?

Yes, Camille provides the (transcendent) vocals for ‘Le Festin,’ Michael Giacchino’s lovely little spiral of a ditty from the rodent-themed prequel to The Bear. (It’s not just me that thinks there’s a small similarity between Linguini and Jeremy Allen White, right? Right?) This isn’t the only animated favorite that Camille lends her vocals to; she also worked with Hans Zimmer to provide the vocals to ‘Suis Moi,’ the (similarly jaunty!) breakout song from 2015’s animated adaptation of The Little Prince:

While her contributions to Emilia Perez might be the first time plenty of people are paying attention to Camille, she’s been right in front of their faces (and ears) in movies for awhile.

Yes, Emilia Pérez’s lyrics are somewhat… unconventional, but that’s not unusual for Camille’s back catalogue

While I am not going to seriously try to defend the indefensible in terms of some of the songwriting — specifically the lyrics of one song in particular, because… I mean — I am going to say that one of the things that stands out in Camille’s songs across the past couple of decades is a sense of and mischief that is, at best, an acquired taste.

I don’t just mean her song from the point of view of a delusional lover in 2011’s “My Man is Married But Not to Me” (The lyrics of which run, in part, “I don’t know why I put myself/In such a bad situation/One day he’ll dump her/For 100%, I’m sure I’m better than her”) or her appreciation of ex-partners in 2002’s “Les ex,” which — if translated from the original French — compares them to expressos best drunk quickly and hot because they’re always available. As the title of another 2011 song of hers puts it, “I Will Never Grow Up.”

Let’s look at yet another 2011 track of hers as a proper definition of her playfulness and humor, though: ‘Money Note,’ which is at once a parody of the vocal histrionics of, say, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston and also an attempt to play them at their own game (while also being an accidental disco classic, somehow?):

Camille's music has a certain, caustic, irrepressible, and at times distasteful sense of humor to it. For some, that's a plus, but it's certainly not for everyone.

And the Academy Award will go to…?

For me, I’ll admit, the music is the primary selling point of Emilia Pérez, a movie that narratively falls apart earlier than its midpoint, and stylistically loses all momentum around the same point; I’m biased, though, because I watched the movie because I’ve been a fan of Camille’s for years by this point, and feel that she still doesn’t get to show everything she’s capable of in it. For that purpose, then, consider the following three tracks, which are very different from each other and also from the conversational, casual alternative to the musical format the movie elects to use:

There are plenty of things to disallow Emilia Pérez from Academy Award gold in all categories, from political and social weight to, simply, heavy and more deserving competition. When it comes to the category for Best Original Song, however, where the movie figures twice in the five-strong category, I feel as if Camille has a background and talent to take home the statuette, especially when the competition includes Diane Warren and Elton John. (To be fair, the competition also includes the movie Sing Sing, which feels like it almost certainly is going to take it this year. Who can deny Colman Domingo?)

Is all of this enough, or has favor fallen far enough from the movie to make a win impossible? We’ll find out when the Academy Awards take place March 2, beginning at 7pm Eastern, 4pm Pacific.

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