Down on her luck and saddled with debt, Emily becomes involved in a credit card scam that lands her in the Los Angeles criminal underworld, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.
There is a point in Emily the Criminal where the eponymous Emily (unsuspected to be a criminal and played by Aubrey Plaza with the necessary courage, bravery and uncompromising determination) is encouraged and told that she could be anything in life. Except that's not true. There can't be, say, Emily the Teacher because Emily is working dead-end jobs while she's swamped with bills and student loan payments. She also has a mild criminal record that elicits skepticism and outright rejection during job interviews. For some people, crime is a necessity, as harsh and wrong as that sounds.
Director: John Patton Ford
Writer: John Patton Ford
Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Bernardo Badillo
Luckily, Emily has the opportunity to earn some money by working with Lebanese credit card scammers who specialize in handing out fake cards to get people to make purchases (big-ticket items like fancy HDTVs to bring them back for a small fraction of the money they make). will be done). to resell. Some candidates resist and leave this secret hideout even though they are sure no one will get hurt and no one will be in danger, while Emily desperately tries to figure it out. Unsurprisingly, she proves to be successful, causing leader Youcef to take notice and present her with more lucrative and challenging jobs.
Not only does danger come in the form of violent men as she collects the goods, but Emily is also faced with a choice from her friend Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke) about a vacant position in the office building where she lives. works. And while Emily the Criminal certainly follows a template, there were a surprise or two along the way, reinforcing the idea that Emily is against her if she wants to eradicate her debt legally. Such haste also means that Emily begins to flout some of the larger goals of this credit card fraud scheme, which spells bad business for everyone involved.
At just 90 minutes, Emily the Criminal is a riveting and suspenseful watch, though it doesn't necessarily make the most of its shaky camera energy and poignant themes. It also wants to be something of a love story as Emily and Youcef grow closer, especially when she realizes that he has noble intentions with the money she's making. The problem is that none of these threads realize their full potential. That is not to say that the story is scattered, since all the necessary parts are here. It's also not to say that writer-director John Patton Ford is ineffective, just that he's not as fully formed as he should be.
Watch Emily the Criminal 2022 Movie Trailer
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