Emily the Criminal: Smart Indie Actioner a Showcase for Aubrey Plaza

By Karen Gordon

Rating: B+

On screen, Aubrey Plaza had always given off vibes that are a little big dangerous and a little bit vulnerable. She employs them both in her latest film, the nifty indie noir thriller Emily the Criminal.

Plaza is Emily, a young woman living in Los Angeles. She is struggling to find a job and trying to make ends meet while paying down her $70,000 student loan.

But a few minor past brushes with the law means she has a record, which make it tougher for her to get a job. And she’s not keen to keep explaining the circumstances to potential employers.

To survive, she freelances as a delivery person for a caterer and shares an apartment with a young married couple she barely speaks to. When her co-worker gives her the number of an outfit that pays people $200 for about an hour’s work, she’s interested.

The work is not legal but not lethal either. The scam is run by Youcef (Theo Rossi), his cousin Khalil (Jonathan Avigdori), and other family members, and seems easy enough. Emily needs the cash and gives it a try.

At the same time, Emily reconnects with old school chum Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke) who has a seemingly glamourous job working for an agency. Emily has a background in art that she abandoned early on in favour of getting a well-paying job to pay down her debts. Liz dangles the idea of setting Emily up for a job at the agency, perhaps as a graphic artist, although that offer seems a bit fraught.

While she waits for Liz to come through, Emily continues to work as a dummy shopper for the charismatic Youcef, getting closer to him. For his part, Youcef seems quite drawn to Emily’s bravado, much to the irritation of his cousins. Behind their backs, he sets her up with her own small version of their operation, setting out some simple rules.

Emily the Criminal is the debut feature by John Patton Ford, who also wrote the script. He’s done a nice job here of ramping up the tension, without resorting to a lot of overwrought situations or melodrama. He keeps the story small and contained and the camera close on the characters.

There’s just enough confrontation and problems to give us the idea that Emily has entered a world where the rules aren’t yet clear to her. And there’s just enough connection to some of the real bread-and-butter issues faced by people swimming in debt to anchor it in reality.

It’s a terrific cast. Rossi as the practical-minded Youcef is nuanced and kinder than you might expect. But the film really belongs to Plaza, who gives Emily much complexity.

The character is like a shark, constantly moving, trying to get a job, a break, something that will give her stability. She’s smart and resourceful and keeps her emotions in check but at the same time, is also slightly sloppy, which leads her into places that test her resolve.

Plaza has, over the past number of years, chosen to make small indie films with up-and-coming directors. She’s not making grand statement films but is instead choosing focused small character-driven movies that are clever and with just enough darkness to be interesting, and strong enough stories to be satisfying.

She continues to prove herself as one of the most interesting actors out there, and another reason to get out to the cinema to support independent film.

Emily The Criminal. Written and directed by John Patton Ford. starring Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi. Opens in theatres August 12.