“It’s only temporary, right?,” Emily (Aubrey Plaza) asks at one point in Emily the Criminal, and it’s a question that the character has clearly been asking for too long. The DUI on her record was only supposed to be a temporary problem. The thousands of dollars she accrued in debts seemed like it would be a temporary issue. The food delivery job that is wearing her down was a temporary way to make much-needed money. When Emily says something is temporary, she knows the truth: temporary can become a permanent issue.
With the world beating her down, Emily gets involved with a credit card scam, a quick way to make $200 in an hour, and the promise of more fast money appears to her. Emily rapidly goes down this rabbit hole of schemes and thefts, temporary situations that if she can escape on top can help her get out of her permanent problems.
Written and directed by first-time filmmaker John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal is a tightly crafted indie thriller, as Ford puts Emily in increasingly dangerous situations with escalating stakes. As Emily sees the opportunities in her ways, she learns from her mistakes, grows from her failures, and doesn’t let anything get in her way. The world has beaten her down so much, it’s time for Emily to do some of the beating for once.
Emily the Criminal works because of a remarkable performance by…
