An art-school-dropout drowning in student debt, Aubrey Plaza discovers she has a talent for credit card fraud in this gripping Sundance breakout from first-time writer/director John Patton Ford.
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A cool, confident debut… Emily the Criminal is a nail-biter that makes the most of the tough side Aubrey Plaza has shown in even her most comic performances.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2022
Emily the Criminal 2022
| Aug 13 |
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“A thriller consistently pushed into darker, more intriguing terrain by Aubrey Plaza’s electric performance, Emily the Criminal tells the story of a financially strapped woman who decides that a life of crime is her only escape from crippling debt – if she can make it out alive. John Patton Ford’s feature debut starts off as a character study but soon ratchets up the tension, never losing its focus on the individuals at the centre of a credit-card scam that will inevitably, but compellingly, go pear-shaped…
Set in Los Angeles, the picture stars Plaza as Emily, an aspiring painter who is saddled with about $70,000 in student loans – not to mention a criminal record… Stuck in a dead-end catering job… Emily receives a tip about being a 'dummy shopper', which pays $200 for one hour of work. She quickly realises why the gig is so lucrative — it’s illegal, using stolen credit card numbers to purchase high-end items like flatscreen televisions… Soon, Emily becomes the close confidante of her boss, Youcef, who takes her on as a partner, showing her the whole operation and promising her even greater riches.” — Tim Grierson, Screendaily
“Ford imbues his story with a tense, vibrating energy, moving briskly between the breathlessness of a heist thriller and the sharper barbs of social satire.” — Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly