Emily the Criminal
Description
The future looms like a brick wall for Emily (Aubrey Plaza), crippled by student loan debt and with her job prospects stymied by an assault conviction. Trapped in the gig economy, she embraces the opportunity to earn extra cash when a friend invites her to join a fraud ring. As yet more doors close on the chance at a normal life and with new boss Youcef (Theo Rossi) showing her how the scam operates, Emily is all in even as she discovers white-collar crime can be dangerous. Plaza is pitch-perfect as a smart, prickly woman driven by desperation to crime who discovers she has a talent for it. Writer-director John Patton Ford delivers a taut first feature, its suspense leavened by bursts of mordant humor.
Biographies
John Patton Ford received his MFA from the American Film Institute. His thesis film, Patrol (2010), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. He worked in advertising, directing commercials for companies that include Audi and Pepsi, and he wrote screenplays for Universal, Disney, and Sony. His screenplay, Rothchild, was number five on the 2014 Hollywood Black List. Emily the Criminal (2022) is his first feature.