Movie Review: Emily the Criminal
Aubrey Plaza understands the assignment in a movie that I wish I'd written
This review contains very minor spoilers. I really enjoyed it, so if you don’t want to risk any “reveals,” please check it out and then come back to read this. I’d love to hear what you think!
I saw Emily the Criminal last week during a bout of insomnia and really enjoyed it. It’s about a woman (Emily, played by Aubrey Plaza with grit and realism) who is struggling under student loan debt and trying to get a job with her degree in studio art. At the suggestion of a co-worker, Emily dips a toe in the world of fraud, as part of a small-time operation led by the charismatic Youcef (Theo Rossi).
The movie follows Emily’s transformation from struggling artist to determined thief and, save for a few forgivable plot holes at the end, carried the tension and drama through to the denouement. Plaza is completely believable on screen, and she has palpable chemistry with Theo Rossi. I found myself rooting for them both to run off to a tropical country where they would rip off wealthy tourists or something.
The movie, however, has a noir vibe, and you know what that means.
It’s not a movie with a lot of violence, but when there is violence, it’s realistic and visceral. Plaza does action well and the director keeps it real by not giving her Black Widow-esque abilities. When her character is in danger, we never really know how she’s going to get out of it, or if she’ll get out of it. In a pivotal scene, when her character decides to take back a cache of money that was recently stolen from her, her desperate, Taser-powered assault hits harder than watching Keanu Reeves take out a room full of goons.
Someone’s gonna have a bad day (hint: not Emily). Image credit: Low Spark Films/IMDB
It’s not all grimness, however. The relationship between Emily and Theo has lighter scenes, including an endearing one between Theo, Emily, and an important person in Theo’s life.
One other thing I liked about the movie was that the stakes were so low. This isn’t, for example, a heist movie on the scale of Michael Mann’s classic Heat—more in the mode of Thief, come to think of it—and it reminded me of the kind of movie adaptation that Elmore Leonard’s novels desparately needed and never got. Just good old-fashioned blue-collar thievery, with believable characters and a female lead who owns the movie from start to finish.
Emily the Criminal is rated R, runs 97 minutes, and is streaming on HBO Max and other services. If you see it, let me know what you think!
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