Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2022
Emily the Criminal
Buy Emily the Criminal now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Emily the Criminal' is a 2022 American crime drama film written and directed by John Patton Ford. It stars Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke and Gina Gershon. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2022, and was released in the United States on August 12, 2022, by Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions. It received generally positive reviews from critics for its social commentary and Plaza's performance.
Plot
Emily lives in Los Angeles and is deeply in debt. She struggles to pay off her student loans, largely because a felony conviction prevents her from getting a well-paying job. Consequently, she delivers food as an "independent contractor" for a catering company. A coworker connects Emily to a "dummy shopper" service that he promises will make her $200 in one hour.
The service is revealed to be a credit card fraud ring, and Emily meets Youcef, one of its organizers, who instructs her to purchase a flat screen TV using a fake card and ID. The next day, Emily is sent on a larger job (purchasing a car on a no-limit credit card) which goes poorly after the dealer discovers the scam, leading to a physical altercation. Youcef tends her wounds and the two discuss their aspirations. Emily, an aspiring artist in her own right, wishes to visit South America once her loans are paid off, while Youcef plans to purchase a rental property with the money made from the fraud ring. On her request, Youcef teaches Emily how to make fake credit cards on her own. He gives her a taser for protection, and instructs her not to sell stolen goods at her home or scam the same store twice in a week. Youcef lies about his involvement with Emily to his cousin Khalil, with whom he works.
While dogsitting for her childhood friend Liz, a buyer for some of her stolen goods follows Emily to her apartment and robs her of her earnings and takes the dog. She tases the buyer and reclaims both.
At a party, Emily learns that there is an opening at Liz's ad agency, and that Liz has gotten her an interview with Alice, her boss. Emily invites Youcef to the party, which sparks a romance between the two.
At a dinner with Youcef's family, Khalil reveals that Emily has been caught hitting the same store twice within a week, prompting the store to post security footage of her online. This leads to a falling out between Youcef and Khalil, who cuts him out of the fraud ring. Emily's job interview with Alice goes poorly after it is revealed that the job is actually an internship and the first five months would be unpaid. When Emily objects to that, Alice insults her, calling her "spoiled."
Youcef reveals to Emily that Khalil had not been paying him for several months. Further, the owner of the rental property he plans to purchase requests an immediate down payment and so Youcef decides to rob the fraud ring itself. Youcef and Emily arrive at the ring's storage unit to find that Khalil has already taken everything, as well as emptying their shared business bank account. Emily convinces Youcef to confront Khalil at his safehouse, where they attempt to ambush him. Khalil attacks Youcef, severely injuring him, though Emily is able to subdue Khalil using a box cutter. Taking the ring's money and assisting Youcef to his car, Emily realizes they have lost his car keys and cannot drive away. As police and ambulance sirens draw closer, Emily chooses to abandon Youcef in his car and take the money for herself.
The police eventually raid Emily's apartment and discover she is gone. Now living in South America, she returns to making art. Emily also establishes a credit-card fraud ring of her own, recruiting dummy shoppers with the promise of making $200 in one hour, just as Youcef had done.
Cast
* Aubrey Plaza as Emily Benetto
* Theo Rossi as Youcef
* Megalyn Echikunwoke as Liz
* Gina Gershon as Alice
* Jonathan Avigdori as Khalil
* Bernardo Badillo as Javier
* Brandon Sklenar as Brent
Production
In August 2021, Aubrey Plaza, Gina Gershon, Megalyn Echikunwoke and Theo Rossi were confirmed to star. Production took place in Los Angeles. Nathan Halpern composed the score.
Release
The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 24. In February 2022, Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions acquired distribution rights for the United States and Canada, and Universal Pictures acquired international rights. It was released on August 12, 2022.
Reception
Plaza's performance and Ford's direction received praise. 'Deadline Hollywood' Damon White wrote, "[While] Ford doesn't insult us with clichs about kick-ass heroines, he does give us a deceptively rich script that explains where Emily has come toand where she will go, ensuring a satisfying ending that, while dark, doesn't feel too sugar-coated." Kate Erbland from 'IndieWire' gave the film an A and wrote of Plaza's character Emily: "Is she likable? Is she redeemable? Is she a hero? As Emily might ask, who gives a fuck? With a film and a star this in control of its pitch-black material, she's not wrong. We're just along for the ride, and wouldn't have it any other way." Benjamin Lee of 'The Guardian' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and praised Ford's direction, calling it "an undeniably striking debut, slick and involving enough to have us curiously excited for whatever he decides to do next."
References
Buy Emily the Criminal now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2022