Emily the Criminal

A good character driven film overall. As others pointed out, Emily’s accent comes and goes but not enough to totally ruin the immersion.

The film does a great job commenting on post-college society, especially taking jabs at unpaid internships. I particularly enjoyed seeing Emily escalate what she was willing to do for cash.

Based on a true story of how Aubery Plaza stole all her movie roles. Method acting as her finest.!

Realistically I think this is how actors and actresses feel when making a movie all the time and I were just demonstrating how they normally feel.

Like photos from a new NASA telescope, this is a surprisingly good look at an old subject.

The directing is sharp, Aubrey Plaza is on point and the whole thing ust looks fucking cool. Plus, I'm a sucker for a film with a strong female lead.

No sugarcoating—”Emily the Criminal” throws the audience straight into a suffocating reality where the so-called “American Dream” crumbles under the crushing weight of student debt, exploitative jobs, and a system designed to keep certain people trapped in a cycle with no way out. Director and writer John Patton Ford, in his stunning feature debut, wastes no time on sentimentalism or easy moral judgments. Instead, he delivers a raw, urgent thriller that plays out like a character study wrapped in the aesthetics of the best crime films of past decades, but with a sharp eye on today’s struggles. And at the heart of it all is Aubrey Plaza, in a fierce, magnetic performance, proving yet again that she’s an actress willing to take risks and dive headfirst into characters that defy convention.

Emily, the protagonist, isn’t some passive victim of circumstance, but she’s not exactly a hero either. She’s someone who’s learned to survive in a game where every rule is stacked against her. A former art student drowning in debt and unable to land a decent job because of a criminal record that won’t stop haunting her, she stumbles into the world of financial fraud almost by accident—but adapts quickly. The script is smart in how it introduces her to this underworld in a way that feels natural, without dramatic turning points or a sudden personality shift. There’s no big moment where Emily “decides” to become a criminal—she just keeps pushing the boundaries little by little, taking risks that get bigger and bigger, until before we know it, she’s crossed a line she can’t come back from.

Her relationship with Youcef (Theo Rossi), the mentor who brings her into the credit card fraud scheme, is one of the most intriguing aspects of the film. Unlike what we usually see in these kinds of stories, Youcef isn’t some ruthless crime boss or manipulative mastermind. He’s a Lebanese immigrant trying to build a better future for himself and his family, and there’s an honesty in how he and Emily connect. They share this unspoken frustration with the world around them, and in a way, they recognize in each other the same feeling of constantly being shut out of the game. But this partnership always carries an underlying sense of danger—because in this world, trust is just as volatile as money.

Aubrey Plaza commands every scene, using her intensity and unpredictability to bring a character to life who doesn’t beg for the audience’s sympathy but still becomes impossible to ignore. There are moments where Emily is cold and calculating, and others where she explodes with rage at the daily humiliations she endures. One of the film’s best scenes turns a job interview into a full-blown verbal showdown, where she calls out the hypocrisy of a system that exploits people without even offering them a real shot at success. These are the details where the script really shines: it doesn’t frame Emily as a helpless victim, but it also doesn’t turn her into some overly stylized master criminal. She’s just reacting to the world in the only way she knows how—by refusing to let it crush her.

The film’s pacing is relentless, with tension that builds naturally without over-the-top tricks. Unlike so many modern thrillers that rely on fast editing or bombastic soundtracks to create urgency, “Emily the Criminal” keeps things tight and raw. The camera follows Emily up close, almost documentary-style, making every choice she makes feel that much more immediate. When she finds herself in dangerous situations—like when she has to take back a stolen car from a violent criminal—you feel the risk in your bones, because everything plays out with unnerving realism.

And that realism is what gives the film its biggest impact. There are no elaborate heists or genius-level schemes that suddenly catapult Emily into luxury. What we see is the gritty side of crime—rushed illegal transactions, tense parking lot meetups, scams that could fall apart in an instant. The extra cash brings temporary relief, but never real security. Emily’s descent into crime doesn’t turn her into some glamorous antihero; it just makes her someone who, out of sheer necessity, learns how to survive in a world where every choice comes at a cost.

In the end, “Emily the Criminal” doesn’t offer redemption or some grand moral lesson. What it does offer is a brutally honest look at a system that crushes those who don’t play by its rules—and what happens when someone decides to rewrite those rules for themselves. It’s a thriller that doesn’t let up, doesn’t give the audience room to breathe, and that’s exactly why it hits so hard. John Patton Ford comes out swinging with a debut that speaks volumes about the times we live in, and Aubrey Plaza delivers one of the sharpest, boldest performances of her career. A film that’s raw, intense, and impossible to ignore.

Decent movie with a different premise. Wasn’t the best but worth the watch.

I thought this was a decent movie. Nothing amazing, but a solid watch with an interesting enough plot, and it's a nice change of pace for Aubrey Plaza.

an engaging film for sure but not a single gun gets pulled on her once? really?

So they doing rip offs then send all the people in the same place all at once and all going to the same van. 😂

I think you need more than 2grand for stealing a damn car.

This guy just shows this random girl the ropes after meeting her twice. Really!!? How has these criminals not been caught yet lol

So you plan to rob someone and what just stick around and think he will let it go? And inassumed he would stay because he wants to buy those properties. I guess he could just go to South America with her after but i doubt it.

“You’re a bad influence” if i had a dollar for the amount of women I’ve told that to lol

And as criminals always do [spoiler]get caught because they dont know when to stop. All it will take now is a cop with an obsession and figure out theres someone in that part of south America doing the same Cc scams [/spoiler] :man_facepalming_tone3: thought she would have [spoiler]enough cash to just chill for the rest of her life in a cheaper country like that with is dollars is definitely possible. Get a normal job like an artist maybe? [/spoiler]

All in all great movie. I am bias when it comes to Aubrey Plaza so take my opinion to be a little skewed lol.

The first words I heard came out of John Billingsley's mouth, and I was disappointed to note that he only appeared in that first scene.

Nice goof when [spoiler]Javier asks Emily if she texted the number he gave her[/spoiler], considering that [spoiler]the fraudsters called him when Emily checked in at their dummy shopping gig to confirm she was a legit referral[/spoiler].

I've enjoyed so many of Aubrey Plaza's movies over the last few years. I wanted to really love this movie.... but I only liked it. The story was pretty good and the acting is excellent - I am not completely sure why I didn't enjoy it more. I think some of it has to do with the resolution - in hindsight I wish that they had spent more time setting up the theme that if you let people take advantage of you then you will always be a victim. I think there was a better movie in there.

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