Sundance Review: Aubrey Plaza Gives an Awesome Performance in EMILY THE CRIMINAL
Aubrey Plaza stars in this new crime drama titled Emily The Criminal, and this is a very different film and role for the actress than anything she’s done before. She hand-picked this project for herself, and she not only stars in the film, but she produced it as well. This was a story that she was passionate about telling, and it shows.
Plaza plays a character named Emily, a woman with a minor criminal record who is just trying to make it in the world. Because of her past, it’s hard for her to find a decent job. In an effort to help make ends meet, she ends up taking a shady gig as a "dummy shopper," which involves her buying products with stolen credit cards and reselling them.
In this new life she’s found herself in, she forms a relationship with the guy who is mentoring her, played by Theo Rossi, and, of course, she’s a big fan of the quick cash that she’s pulling in. But her new lifestyle isn’t without its crazy and dangerous risks and trials, but Emily pulls through because she’s actually kind of a badass.
This film tells an interesting story that will keep the audience engaged. It's a simple story, but the script is great writing, and the execution of bringing the story to life is perfect. The film had a good flow to it, good pacing, and the way the story played out and the way the characters were portrayed in the film felt natural. I really enjoyed how the story escalated with these characters and how things ended up playing out.
Plaza’s performance was easily the highlight of the movie, though. She was absolutely awesome, and it’s easily one of her best performances in a dramatic role like this. I also like the character she played and her brutally honest, no-filter personality. I’ve been a fan of Plaza’s work for years, and it’s great to see her taking on new and different kinds of projects like this one.
The film was written and directed by John Patton Ford, and this is a must watch movie, especially if you enjoy Aubrey Plaza’s work.
Here's the description that was provided by Sundance:
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 middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced not only by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black market capitalism, but also by her ardent mentor Youcef.
Writer-director John Patton Ford’s taut thriller follows Emily from the margins of the corporate gig economy to the borderlands of the Los Angeles underworld. Emily the Criminal keeps sharp focus on its ambitious and increasingly reckless protagonist. Plaza, last seen at the Sundance Film Festival in Black Bear (2020), gives a nervy, committed performance, transforming Emily from an embittered temp worker into a stone-cold thief. Rossi is disarmingly vulnerable as her partner in crime.
