‘I just want to be able to experience things…’
There are so many TV shows and films about someone starting off as a petty criminal before getting in over their head that it feels pretty tired by this point. It’d need something truly special to elevate that kind of project in 2022. Luckily, Emily the Criminal has Aubrey Plaza, and Aubrey Plaza is goddamn wonderful…
Emily (Plaza) is broke, but she’s also unable to get a proper job due to a prior conviction for assault (a conviction that is craftily never properly explained). We meet her being interviewed by some sanctimonious boss man who pretends not to know what her conviction is for before blindsiding her with the truth. It’s a shitty move and one that sums up the key message of the movie. All bosses are arseholes. To pick up the slack, Emily gets involved with credit card fraud after meeting Youcef (Theo Rossi) – a lovable rogue with big ideas of his own.
It’s intriguing to see a female lead in a movie like this, but Plaza is more than up for the task. She takes what could be a by-the-numbers crime movie and turns it into something really special. Despite making her name in goofy comedies, Plaza has flourished since her breakout dramatic role in Black Bear and she has gone from strength to strength since.
Writer-director John Patton Ford keeps things simple behind the camera, allowing the story and Plaza’s performance to take centre stage, and this is a wise move, the result is a short and brutal movie that is captivating and compelling throughout. It also straddles a number of different genres whilst still demonstrating a subtle soupcon of social commentary. A difficult balancing act for any filmmaker.
Emily the Criminal isn’t as groundbreaking as Black Bear, but boy is it entertaining. Well worth a look.