Review for Emily the Criminal

Emily is an aspiring artist who works dead end job delivering for a Deliveroo-style company. Her co-worker recommends her to try out another opportunity which guarantees her $200 easy.

Desperate and drowning in debt, she accepts only to discover that it is credit card fraud. If she can get away with buying an item and returning it to the people she will get paid. She does and Youcef offers her a chance to make more money doing more dangerous jobs. She finds that she is actually goof at it and Youcef helps her to set herself up by herself, but this put Emily in danger from the law and from the original gang and they agree to work together on one final job.

I will be brutally honest and say I had no high hopes for this film and seeing Aubrey Plaza starring I expected this to be a comedy. Instead, this is one of the most electrifying performances and perfectly pitched films I have seen in a long time. Weaving the crime story with the simple story of a woman who wants to make something of herself is wonderful and the two interview scenes are perfect in every way with a memorable cameo by Gina Gershon.

Director/Writer John Patton Ford has produced one of the best films I have seen all year. It is a shame that it has not been recognised by any of the awards which is clearly deserves.

Other than a Trailer there are no other extras which is a shame as I was hoping to hear more from the makers of the film about the making of it.

With so many big budget action/superhero films it is nice to see a film that feels like it was made by people who have a clear understanding of what makes a great film and Aubrey Plaza is a shining light, proving that she is more than just the quirky character from Parks and Rec. Emily the Criminal is a criminally overlooked film which I will recommend everyone to seek out.