Emily the Criminal

Emily the Criminal

Emily, who is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record, gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Crime, Drama, Thrillers
  • Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Gina Gershon, Jonathan Avigdori, Bernardo Badillo, Craig Stark, Brandon Sklenar
  • Director: John Patton Ford
 Comments
  • sbweightman - 5 May 2024
    Engaging and thought-provoking.
    An interesting story about desperate people turning to victimless crime due to their financial strains and the American labor laws not really giving them much of a choice. The plot covers the ups and downs of their journey with the odd tense moment, escalating to a fitting and somewhat realistic finale. Strong acting and character development as it shows their relationship grow and you begin to sympathize with them and their humble ambitions. Whilst the attitude of "once a criminal, always a criminal" if given motive, means, opportunity and a morally grey compass is unfair, it's hard to ignore in some cases.
  • asarunangshusen - 2 April 2024
    Thrilling , Love acting of Aubrey Plaza
    Get ready to immerse yourself in the dark and captivating world of black-market capitalism with "Emily the Criminal," a must-see thriller set to release in 2022. Directed by John Patton Ford and starring the talented Aubrey Plaza in the lead role, this movie promises to be a wild ride you won't want to miss.

    The story follows Emily, an art school graduate who's drowning in debt and struggling to find a job due to her criminal record. Her situation represents the struggle of an entire generation, and the stakes are high as she turns to credit card fraud as a way out. Emily soon finds herself caught up in a world of illegal yet lucrative ventures, guided by the charismatic Youcef.

    Aubrey Plaza's portrayal of Emily is simply stunning, as she perfectly captures the character's desperation and the allure of quick money. The film is praised for its gripping narrative and social commentary, shining a light on the harsh realities that drive people towards a life of crime. As Emily and Youcef navigate the dangers and risks of their actions, their relationship adds an extra layer of depth and emotion to the story.

    "Emily the Criminal" is a powerful film that masterfully combines personal drama with broader societal issues, taking you on a thrilling and thought-provoking journey that will leave you speechless.
  • LetsReviewThat26 - 1 January 2024
    Aubrey is awesome
    Every since parks and recl. My favourite character was always April ludgate. I think Aubrey is a terrific actress and I'm happy we get to see that here. She plays Emily. A food prep worker that has student debt longer than her arm. She's looking for a quick way to make money. Her coworker Javier is here to help and after getting a phone number she attends a meeting. It starts out normal enough. She'll receive 200 dollers by using a fake credit card to buy a TV. It escalated to more money but she has to buy a car. Emilys life goes well but things are not all to great and the fun times have to end. She falls for the man that sets her the challenges yusef and you just want Emily to be safe and not get in trouble for the illegal things she does. Really this is just a great crime thriller with a great lead.its simple in it's set up and the suspence is executed well. Overall I'm very happy with this movie and as. Directional debut I look forward to more great films.
  • Mr-Topshotta - 8 January 2023
    "EMILY THE CRIMINAL" REVIEW
    Directed and written by John Patton Ford. A runtime of one hour and thirty-seven minutes. Streaming on Netflix with an R rating. "Emily" played by Aubrey Plaza is down on her luck. She has a ton of student debt and is working hard to barely make ends meet.

    "Emily" has a true passion for drawing but perusing her dreams isn't realistic. Not in this lifetime. At least not right now.

    After doing a favor for one of her co-workers. He tells "Emily" about a little spot run by "Youcef" played by Theo Rossi. There she can earn a little extra money doing some scamming. It doesn't take long before "Emily" is thrust into the deep end of the scammer life. Now She'll have to balance new relationships, new money, and a new criminal lifestyle. That brings out the worst of the worst.

    "Emily The Criminal" was a decent film. Aubrey Plaza has a certain type of role. She plays a lot of very similar roles. When I see her name attached to a film, I immediately have an idea about how the film will be.

    It was an interesting story. A story of scamming. Most of the whole film was decent but that ending got crazy, in a good way. I didn't know exactly what would happen. But at a certain point, I kind of figured it might end that way.

    A cool Netflix film with Aubrey in another usual role. I loved seeing Theo Rossi. Every time I see him I Immediately get thrust into "Sons Of Anarchy", Thinking of "Juice". I give this film three mor fires 🔥🔥🔥.

    #Cosmoandthemonsterwithin #CosmoMovieBlog #CosmoLanier #EmilyTheCriminal.
  • FKDZ - 2 January 2023
    Emily the Criminal
    Emily the Criminal is a engaging character drama supported by strong acting and suspenseful directing. For a small movie it ticks most of the boxes, has a nice runtime and is well paced but lacks that big finale you might be used to.

    Directorially it's shot fairly well, though it does like to be in your face quite a lot. It doesn't ever really give you a showing of the room. Keeps it character focused for the most part. This did get tiresome for me after a while and doesn't give much time to breath. Even though there is time needed to reflect on the decisions made.

    That leads me to character decisions and internal motivation. Emily is perfectly set up, history gives the traits, the stage in her life gives the motivations, work, financial and social. She's a smart character. Layered underneath anger and frustration. But she's not a good person. Which her story will make you struggle with to accept. Her partner, is a little less well developed, for my taste a little too easily taken care of, too trusting for the line of work. Which makes him likeable too, which he again shouldn't be. So for characters it was done well. Though at times I did want more personal time with Emily, just a bit more of a glimpse of what's going on internally.

    Music is good, suspenseful and actiony when it needs to be. No complains there, really liked the credits. Sound design was alright.

    Acting is fantastic, Plaza owns the lead role and nails it in my opinion, but Rossi is also very strong. Loved Khalil as well, great presence. Story is perfectly fine although it finishes up quite fast and quite easily. Again I wish we just got something more out of Emily as a character during the final scenes.

    Just a good little movie, no nonsense but still a engaging story. Just good.
  • tchitouniaram - 26 December 2022
    For
    A change , a very decent thriller ! Relevant too in this turbulent times ! Acting is superb , all in all a very good one time watch, nothing more and nothing less !

    A change , a very decent thriller ! Relevant too in this turbulent times ! Acting is superb , all in all a very good one time watch, nothing more and nothing less ! A change , a very decent thriller ! Relevant too in this turbulent times ! Acting is superb , all in all a very good one time watch, nothing more and nothing less ! A change , a very decent thriller ! Relevant too in this turbulent times ! Acting is superb , all in all a very good one time watch, nothing more and nothing less !
  • runsky - 17 December 2022
    Surprisingly, factual, wonderful movie
    I was impressed with the versatility of roles, and ease to which Aubrey Christina Plaza can transition so easily into different genres. Originally when I think of Aubrey Plaza, I think of a upscale, private establishment, snobby, type of role for her. However, this movie was so realistic, especially in today's society. It is so difficult after college to find that career defining role that school draws into your head is waiting on you on the other side after graduation. However, the reality is even though you have a enorous amount of student debt, it's still necessary to be in the SAME OR WORSE trenches, that you were just saying prior to completing your education.

    Schools and colleges consistently spew propaganda of immediate success with your college degree however, it doesn't work like a magic ticket. For a select few perhaps it's a mediate however, the majority of us have to work hard to achieve the next station in life.

    After college graduation, you'll will either transition from internship to career, or struggle, finding work in your field, or faced a hard truth, that you need more education just to level the playing field.

    No matter how high your grades were or how many sacrifices and late nights pushing through to complete the course assignments. The feeling that it's not enough after receiving the degree is a harsh reality.

    My perception of the college experience has been that the recruiters should spend less time trying to recruit, /retain students, and more time on, revealing the true path and realistic jobs available with each degree. I think unrealistic goals are given and it's either a sink or swim situation.
  • vanwilgen - 15 December 2022
    To whomever made this, take a class in suspense.
    First responses: 1. This is not a movie, this is show and tell. 2. I understand the portrait of the underlying issues but jeez, please take your audience a little more serious.

    Explanation/apologies: ok, maybe I have different standards but I think movies should be engaging, as in, I want to involve you, the audience, in the issues at hand, and this movie doesn't. Whether you like this or not but movies are Medieval morality stories where a person has to make a choice between good and bad. However, in this story someone else has already taken the decision for the main character. Had I been a woman I'd be very upset by this sexist, she has to do what I tell her, approach. For not one moment I believed she could make a decision on her own. Result: it was boring to watch, I fast forwarded it. Whoever wrote and I'm sure directed as well, learn about suspense, conflict and stakes.
  • DarkVulcan29 - 12 December 2022
    Audrey Plaza knocks it out the park
    Audrey Plaza really surprised me, she pulled quite a good performance here as Emily, a woman who is down on her luck until she gets involved in a credit card scam, things seem to be going quite smoothly, what happens when things begin to spiral out of control?

    I love the moments when Emily goes all breaking bad, displaying good acting by Plaza. Emily is not always likable, but you kind understand why she is doing it, even you the viewer don't really like it. Theo Rossi is also good here, playing the guy who pulls Emily into the scam. Audrey Plaza who is very beautiful, looks like here she's seen a lot of rough years. The suspence just builds up perfectly.
  • waggs-ny - 11 December 2022
    Really, what would you do?
    I think this movie happens to capture a reality that we often overlook. This is a hyper-specific case however, I do believe we all find ourselves at a point of inflection where we make a decision to turn left or right and ultimately luck largely decides our fate. I won't give away any spoilers but I happen to think that this movie Tells A Tale a bit older than what is reflected on the screen and masterfully presented by the actors within it. I went in with middling expectations and found myself exceedingly impressed.

    Aubrey Plaza, continues to impress me at every turn. Every single thing I have seen her in since Parks and Recreation has made me think she is more in line with a leading lady and Oscar winning actress and can't wait to see what she does next but do feel strongly her performance here was so strong she should be inconsideration for some award. That doesn't mean she should win but she needs recognition for how strong her acting is at some point :-)