Film Review - Emily The Criminal (2022)

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) has tried everything to get her life straight and it’s becoming frustrating when she had so many plans and dreams laid ahead of her. After dropping out of college due to a DUI, she’s ended up in a series of dead-end jobs and has struggled to make ends meet, which seems to be getting worse by the day. Her dream is to be a successful artist and she has friends in that area who could help her make it happen, but first she has to get her foot in the door.

Then one day a friend of hers tells her that she can make $200 in an hour and gives her a number to text. With nothing to lose, Emily takes this questionable opportunity. She’s told to go to a place where she gets there, she’s told that what they do there is illegal and she can back out now if she wants. However, Emily is determined to see it through and when she knows it won’t put herself or anyone else in danger, she sees it as easy money.

There she meets Youcef (Theo Rossi) and they hit it off personally and professionally and he takes her under his wing, teaching her everything he knows. However, as their relationship evolves, so do their crimes which force Emily to make some tough choices.

Emily the Criminal is a crime drama written and directed by John Patton Ford in his directorial debut. Showing the modern world’s gig economy, Ford’s script lays it all out in no uncertain as to how hard it can be in the job market. It also shows how a little mistake can change your life forever.

Plaza puts in a career best performance and shows the depths in which she is willing to take her characters, even though the fledgling filmmaker may seem to want to pull his punches. So when Plaza is putting in a great performance, it almost feels like the film doesn’t want her to go too far.
The audience may really feel for Emily as well as her situation is something that is all too familiar and relatable to them. However, her transition from innocent to driven woman with a job to do never feels forced or unrealistic which may make the audience question what they would do in her shoes.