Emily the Criminal - BLU-RAY

Aubrey Plaza is one of the most versatile performers currently working in film. Though she’s perhaps best known for comedy, I am a huge fan of her thoughtful thrillers. INGRID GOES WEST is one of my favorite flicks from the last five years and her latest, John Patton Ford’s EMILY THE CRIMINAL, is a small triumph, as well. I wasn’t able to get to a theatrical screening back in August, but the brand new blu ray arrived at my door this week. Last night, I gave it a spin. Plaza plays Emily, an “independent contractor” aka delivery driver for a catering service that offers no benefits and no dignity. Due to an aggravated assault conviction in her past, she has been unable to obtain better employment and is just barely scraping by. She lives in a cramped apartment with multiple roommates, struggles to make huge student loan payments, and is too tired and defeated to follow her artistic passions. In short, she leads a life that’s not dissimilar to many from her generation. One day, she is provided with a choice to either continue playing by the rules imposed by an unfair system or to pursue a freer and happier life via illegal means. She chooses the latter and begins to rise through the ranks of a credit card fraud ring. Along the way, she develops a relationship with one of the ringleaders named Youcef (Theo Rossi). However, Youcef’s cousin and boss Khalil (Jonathan Avigdori) does not approve of this development. When Emily makes a mistake, it leads to a rupture between Youcef and Khalil that has violent consequences. Ford, making his debut with EMILY THE CRIMINAL, also wrote the script, and it’s at its strongest when it focuses on characters and themes. It’s clear that the filmmaker is concerned with issues surrounding the topics of student debt, workers’ rights, and capitalism. While Emily is certainly flawed, we nevertheless empathize with her plight as she navigates the impossible circumstances created by these elements of our society. That Emily is not some pure of heart angel actually accentuates the believability and ultimate realism of the premise. This character work is also the key to making the piece’s overall moral ambiguity work in a seemingly effortless manner. Though I think the film ultimately stumbles slightly when it drifts into conventional crime thriller territory, I still think it’s bravura work, especially considering Ford’s newcomer status. As always, Plaza, who’s also credited as a producer, nails her role. Her transition from beaten down menial laborer to assertive defrauder is both plausible and entertaining. Despite her work being somewhat understated, we can see her desperation, frustration, anger, resentment, and ambition all in different ways throughout the film. She never mugs, though, and it’s all in service to the story and its themes. Rossi also shines in the main supporting role. He is warm and likable, perhaps subverting our expectations of what his type of character should entail. The great Gina Gershon shows up in a cameo for a dynamite scene where she gets to square off with Plaza about the true nature of empowerment. Jeff Bierman’s cinematography is naturalistic and effectively captures the overlapping worlds of rat race subjects and upper middle class criminality. We get plenty of handheld shots that insert us into Emily’s drab but sun drenched existence. I also enjoyed some of the tighter framed shots that conveyed the suffocation imposed by Emily’s circumstances. So, there are certainly many beautifully composed sequences, but I wouldn’t describe it as stylish, per se. It stays out of the way of the story and actors and gives us an easily understood version of an everyday Los Angeles. Sets and locations are perfectly deployed for maximum immersion. John Patton Ford’s EMILY THE CRIMINAL treads some morally murky waters and asks some pointed questions. It’s a biting critique of certain elements of our society that sill manages to check the boxes for genre conventions. If you’re like me and you’ve seen plenty of spectacle-laden blockbusters recently, it also makes for a much needed breath of fresh air. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s one that I’ll be thinking about for some time. I highly recommend it to fans of Sam Raimi’s A SIMPLE PLAN, DESTROYER, and MID90S.

By far Aubrey Plaza’s best movie, the plot slowly ramps up (similar to Gosling’s “Drive” building suspense) leaving you wanting more. Plaza’s life is beaten down with bad luck. A fill upped rap sheet of crime, college debt and working for little pay, her life just wasn’t getting on track. Those circumstances lead to her commit a small crime, then a bigger crime until the stuff hits the fan. With a surprise ending she just might end up a criminal for vindication from her previous transgressions life…enjoy!!

An outstanding performance by Aubrey Plaza elevates this film above its average storyline (how circumstances can easily force someone into criminality). Plaza is very compelling as her character, Emily, slides deeper and deeper into the L.A. crime scene, and you keep wondering how far Emily will go to not only survive but thrive.

I should have waited for a couple of weeks as the movie then showed up on Netflix. It wasn’t a bad movie but not one that I will watch several times. I feel like I wasted my money since it was only an average movie that I could have watched on Netflix.

Emily the Criminal is a highly effective slick yet gritty crime thriller. Aubrey Plaza is outstanding as the titular character. A career best. It's paced extremely well and directed brilliantly. This film was one of the biggest surprises of 2022. A must see.