Emily the Criminal

Name: Emily the Criminal
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: August 12, 2022
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 75
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Bernardo Badillo, Brandon Sklenar, Carlos E. Campos, Frank Brown Jr.

2022

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Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 84 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 84 Ratings

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Emily The Criminal

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Movie Details & Credits

Roadside Attractions | Release Date: August 12, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Bernardo Badillo, Brandon Sklenar, Carlos E. Campos, Frank Brown Jr., Gina Gershon, Jessie Camacho, John Billingsley, Jonathan Avigdori, Kim Yarbrough, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Sarah Allyn Bauer, Theo Rossi, Victor Wolf, Wesley Han, Wyatt Barrios

Summary: Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews,Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism, and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef. Together, they hatch a plan to bring their business to the next level in Los Angeles.… Expand

Director: John Patton Ford

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

100

RogerEbert.com Sheila O'Malley

Aug 12, 2022

This is John Patton Ford's directorial debut, and it is an extremely impressive piece of work. Read full review

Richard Roeper

Aug 10, 2022

Rossi and Plaza make for a sizzling team; we believe every syllable of their dialogue, every development in their relationship. It’s almost criminal, how good these two are together. Read full review

Polygon Katie Rife

Aug 18, 2022

As a crime thriller, Emily the Criminal is well-written and absorbingly paced, but it’s Plaza’s fearless work that makes it memorable. Read full review

Phil de Semlyen

Jan 26, 2022

Plaza, who follows up Black Bear with another darker turn, is great in a role that lets her badass side out for a rampage. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Aug 10, 2022

A kind of gravitational pull emanates from Aubrey Plaza as the title character in Emily the Criminal, a passably diverting crime thriller where, in place of a moral center, Plaza delivers a performance that is entertainingly blackhearted. Read full review

Slashfilm Chris Evangelista

Jan 26, 2022

Plaza's performance, which grows more desperate and more fierce, is what keeps things going. Tension continually mounts and builds, and writer-director Ford stages several anxiety-ridden set-pieces that inspire a sick-to-your-stomach feeling. Read full review

Amy Nicholson

Jan 26, 2022

Despite the fact that the camera rarely backs away from studying Plaza’s wary eyes and tense mouth in close-up, this character piece feels as distanced from its taciturn subject as if it was merely monitoring her on security camera. Read full review

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User Reviews

davemelbourne58

Aug 14, 2022

Great screenwriting & direction. Great performance from Aubrey Plaza. She makes unlikeable at least sympathetic. Like a great roller coaster ride, this mmovie is over before you know it. The ending is really the only thing I can say is up for debate, but Emily the Criminal is the bestGreat screenwriting & direction. Great performance from Aubrey Plaza. She makes unlikeable at least sympathetic. Like a great roller coaster ride, this mmovie is over before you know it. The ending is really the only thing I can say is up for debate, but Emily the Criminal is the best movie of 2022, right up there with Nope.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

Brent_Marchant

Aug 15, 2022

Given the level of graft and corruption in contemporary society, it often seems like the only way to get ahead is to cheat, even if it means breaking the law. The age-old wisdom of working hard, playing by the rules and being fair seems “quaint” to many, especially among many of today’sGiven the level of graft and corruption in contemporary society, it often seems like the only way to get ahead is to cheat, even if it means breaking the law. The age-old wisdom of working hard, playing by the rules and being fair seems “quaint” to many, especially among many of today’s young adults, who feel as though they’ve been saddled with insurmountable debt from dubious lending practices like those associated with burdening student loans. But what is one to do when the old rules simply don’t work and a new solution is needed to break out of financial bondage? Those are the questions raised in this taut new thriller about a young woman torn between following her principles and being practical in the face of staggering odds working against her. Writer-director John Patton Ford’s debut feature addresses these issues head-on in a straight-up drama about what desperation can prompt us to do when we feel we’re running out of conventional options. The film provides a superb showcase for actress Aubrey Plaza as the beleaguered protagonist, who finds it surprisingly easy to turn to what many older viewers might see as a series of questionable and unethical choices, despite the fact that she often sees no other way out of her circumstances – and the troubling path that they set her on for the future. Some may see some of the narrative’s developments as a little far-fetched, but one simultaneously can’t help but wonder what would we do if we found ourselves in the title character’s shoes? This surprisingly thoughtful offering dressed up in a somewhat conventional crime drama makes for an intriguing fusion of genres that will have you on the edge of your seat for its economical and always-engaging 1:37:00 runtime. Don’t sell this one short; it may not be widely known, but it’s well worth a look.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

QLA1992

Aug 13, 2022

Plaza is electrically tenacious in the lead role. There are some very gripping scenes, but some of the quieter moments don’t quite land.

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

Trypsinogen

Aug 20, 2022

Only went out to see a movie because I needed to waste some time. I thought this premise sounded the most potentially interesting of the options, but it turned out that I didn't find the story/storytelling to be very compelling or interesting. I guess I was hoping for more poignantOnly went out to see a movie because I needed to waste some time. I thought this premise sounded the most potentially interesting of the options, but it turned out that I didn't find the story/storytelling to be very compelling or interesting. I guess I was hoping for more poignant illustrations of the struggles that young people these days have to deal with (student loan debt, rigged economy and social structure, socialism for the rich/corporations, ever-growing extreme wealth hoarding, grave absurdities and injustices of late-stage capitalism, etc). I only remember one scene striking me as being particularly enjoyable. The rest felt mostly just passable and occasionally more on the weak/questionable side. If I weren't a fan of Aubrey and somebody else was playing her role, I might actually rate this a 6.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JLuis_001

May 28, 2023

It was interesting to see a change of turn for Aubrey Plaza, who was basically only getting roles as an unsympathetic stuck-up girl, which had typecast her, yet she finally proves she can do other things.

And while she's a more than competent lead, I have to say the context itself is veryIt was interesting to see a change of turn for Aubrey Plaza, who was basically only getting roles as an unsympathetic stuck-up girl, which had typecast her, yet she finally proves she can do other things.

And while she's a more than competent lead, I have to say the context itself is very weak.
I understand the narrative is focused on her, that she is a young artist with very different ambitions than the rest of the people doing the same as her to survive in this story, and yet any attempt to critique the capitalist model that has her in her situation - indebted and unable to get a better paying job - is totally relegated to just being the catalyst for her circumstances and motivations, but nothing more.

Even when we do get to explore some of Theo Rossi's character, he and his motivations are sacrificed in order for Emily to have a closure.

Emily the Criminal is an entertaining experience, but also a very basic one.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

stevekm

Feb 16, 2023

Good movie on a girl's struggle to find a good paying job. A tale of our times about student debt, partying teens, and crime being the only way to make a living.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ArloDinkin

Aug 13, 2022

I walked out about three-quarters in. It's rare for me to bail on a movie. But I was bored. I was not caring about how things might turn out. For better or worse, our own lives are much more interesting (other than going to a movie in the afternoon on a Friday). However, my own mind had doneI walked out about three-quarters in. It's rare for me to bail on a movie. But I was bored. I was not caring about how things might turn out. For better or worse, our own lives are much more interesting (other than going to a movie in the afternoon on a Friday). However, my own mind had done a Freudian slip. I read the name of the movie as "Emily the Killer". Maybe that had something to do with why I impulsively decided to go see it. Looking back, I now realize why the ticket vendor gave me a strange look when I asked for one ticket to "Emily the Killer". Now I second guess myself wondering if I should have stayed for the ending to see if she ever kills anyone.
But, I did not care about the ending, because the characters gave me no reason to care. Up to my departure, the movie was a peek inside the lives of some random ordinary strangers. They have the same kind of mundane lives that make us want to move somewhere nice like Costa Rica or Denmark. On the bright side, I might recommend it to a teenager as a cautionary documentary about the importance of keeping a clean record. And above all else kids, don't go get into student loan debt for an art degree. Especially if you suspect that you have no artistic talent.… Expand

0 of 8 users found this helpful08

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