Emily, criminelle malgré elle

Emily the Criminal stands next to Maverick for the best thriller of the year. That's because of Aubrey Plaza, who plays the anti-hero for our times

The eponymous bad girl of the Sundance breakout Emily the Criminal is as much a victim of society's neglect as she is of her own self-centeredness. Yet Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is self-sufficient and capable of kicking serious butt, not in a professional, martial-arts way, but in a way that mirrors her determination.

It's not difficult to see why she is easily seduced from food-delivery work to credit card scamming given the $70K in school loans, half a degree, and her permanent record of aggravated assault and DUI. The clarity and tension with which writer/director John Patton Ford unfolds Emily's arc are admirable--anyone in the audience can immediately identify with her dilemma-to remain poor or to make enough to erase debt and live comfortably.

Emily's only real friend is her old college chum, Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke), who gets her an ad-agency interview with a mean womansplaining exec (Gina Gershon) that serves as the last testament to what Emily will suffer for every job she interviews: facing her criminal record and being offered, in this case, an internship for almost a half year without pay.

Hooking up with an enterprise that scams credit cards is almost a given; hooking up with the middle manager, Yusuf (Theo Rossi), is also a given, given that he is handsome, charming, and warm hearted. The drama actually comes alive when she begins scamming, showing a natural talent and aggressive enough, unlike other modern heroines, to escape by wit or just smarts with the help of a taser or boxcutters.

Throughout Emily the Detective, Plaza plays a decent millenial who has been buffeted by fate and her own stern affect to find salvation in accelerating crime, for which she has talent. Emily is not really the criminal that Yusuf's colleagues are; rather she's a bright woman caught in a social satire both trenchant and scary.

You'll love Plaza in this role. Just pray she can move from her deadpan characters to a variety of strong women. Like Ryan Gosling in Drive, she's impossible to ignore. She's that good.

Decent movies are becoming rarer nowadays. They're produced like junk food. On an industrial scale and with very little intrinsic value, soul or art. This little gem is definitely not one of those and I'd comfortably place in the fantastic category. Aubrey is outstanding! She's still the same actor you'll recognise instantly but also manages to pull off something completely fresh and unexpected. The story is a cracker. Excellently shot. Pacing is on point. Cast is spot on.

One of my favourite films this year so far, and after being disappointed so many times that's a very pleasant surprise!

Encore!!

I think the reviews give you the overall gist of what this movie is all about but what's very striking, and entertaining is when Emily goes a little psycho. Not a ranting or dramatic psycho but a very focused, calculating one. Very solid performance, and the co-lead is a very good complement. If you liked Atomic Blonde, Anna, Salt and any other strong female lead that refuses to let the world get the better of them, you'll like this one.

Gripping , poignant , acting as good as it gets and a story that keeps you wanting to see more. I keep this review brief because if you don't see this move you will be the one missing out. Best thing I have watched at home or in the movie theater for some time.

This is a very engaging movie. Plaza is good, and Rossi, as her mentor in crime, is even better. They have a good chemistry together, which makes all the difference.

Her initial state --- student debt, no good job available, shared housing, etc. -- makes her desperation for something else understandable. Her step-by-step descent into crime feels credible, as do the details of the criminal schemes themselves.

Well worth watching.