Emily the Criminal review – Aubrey Plaza sells a bulletproof crime-thriller

Following her striking dramatics in Black Bear and Ingrid Goes West, Aubrey Plaza delves even deeper into the darkness with writer-director ​​John Patton Ford’s fervently intense crime-thriller Emily the Criminal, proof that she deserves every and any role she wants.

Veering into unpredictable realms, the film begins with the eponymous character hitting dead ends in the search for a well-paying job that’ll shake the cramping weight of her $70,000 student debt (plus the interest amping the bill) for a degree she never completed. Additionally, an aggravated assault felony on her criminal record blocks off any potential doors of employment before they even have the chance to open. For the time being Emily is getting by working for a low-income food delivery company while her dreams of becoming an artist are put on hold. So when the opportunity to make some quick cash arises, she's drawn to the enterprise like a moth to the flame, risk of being burned be damned.

With determined resolve, Emily marches into the Los Angeles criminal underbelly to go against the biggest villain of them all: capitalism. Under the instruction of her mentor and partner in crime Youcef (Theo Rossi), she uses a fake identity to pull off a credit card scam, flipping stolen goods for profit. Compartmentalising her knack for theft by the fact no one is getting hurt, the robberies slowly increase in value and the line of what Emily is willing to do shifts further and further from her moral compass. Instead of trying to pull herself out, she allows herself to be pulled under.

Youcef is her only ally, but trust is a virtue in this expansive criminal underworld – one that Ford narrows in on with searing focus. Supposedly “easy” money comes with a price: people around every corner are willing to do anything it takes to acquire more at a faster pace. Ford’s film shows the desperation of what happens when all available avenues of achieving the American Dream fail, a wider comment on the stacked student loan bills and modern gig economy that slots nicely into the film without pretence. It is frustrating, then, that this punchy movie becomes rather flimsy in its final act – fine, just not the thrilling conclusion that Emily the Criminal deserves.

Still, Emily the Criminal is a confident, steely debut from a filmmaker who is astutely aware it's in his best interest to lean on the powerhouse performer he has at his fingertips. With a steely gaze and devilish smile, this character study-cum-thriller is packed with suspenseful high-speed car chases and nail-bitingly brutal office confrontations. Ford’s approach is to show Emily as a woman hellbent on survival, never excusing her actions but explicating the recklessness of her choices, admirably crafting an antihero that is far from cliché.

Emily the Criminal screened as part of the Sundance Film Festival 2022. A UK release date is yet to be announced.