Emily the Criminal

This is an article ‘Emily the Criminal’ by Marc Primo

Release date: 12 August 2022 (United States)

Director: John Patton Ford

Language: English

Production companies: Low Spark Films, Fear Knot Productions, Evil Hag Productions

Producers: Tyler Davidson, Aubrey Plaza, Drew Sykes

SPOILER ALERT – Some movie buffs often get excited at how most independent filmmaking comes from the writer-director psyche. Typically, directors helming their own script ideas produce unique and well-rounded characters that make for intact storytelling. However, because scripts tend to be more on the artsy side of things, some of the details and verve can get lost when low budgets and hectic shoot schedules come into play.

Such is probably the case with Emily the Criminal, wherein what looked good on paper fell short on the screen. Nonetheless, credit goes to writer-director John Patton Ford for his best efforts on both fronts. How Ford created Emily Benetto's character, played by a more serious Aubrey Plaza (who also serves as one of the film's producers), gives audiences a never-before-seen peek at the life of underground scammers and grifters in colorful yet bland detail. It's safe to say that Ford's debut feature film can grab the audience's attention momentarily but may just as well be quickly forgotten once the credits start rolling.

Of course, Plaza deserves the titular character in how film fans seem to want more of her on the screen. Ford knows this, placing Emily at the center of the spotlight for most of the film as a young and struggling LA native who learns life and money lessons the hard way.

Disturbia

Right from the opening scene, we find Emily in a job interview at a medical facility. She admits to a previous DUI record, not knowing the company had done background checks, which reveals more juicy details about her record. From here on, viewers gain clues on how Emily hides somewhat of a dark past and present stemming from her student loan of $70,000.

As an art school student, Emily had a tough childhood in Newark, New Jersey. She currently works as a back-end food service employee, which doesn't do enough for her financially. Looking for a more suitable job to pay her loans, she turns to a college friend who promises to persuade her boss to give her a job in graphic design. Unfortunately, as she later finds out, she ends up taking an intern position without pay for five months.

Desperate, Emily takes on her co-worker's recommendation for a shady job as a dummy shopper that supposedly pays $200 an hour. I.D. pictures are taken for fake licenses, an orientation takes place, promises are made, and transparency about the credit card scams and data theft are pointed out. Reluctant but convinced, Emily decides to get in on the modus operandi. After her first $200 job, she is offered a mysterious $2,000 scam that involves unlimited black cards, cashier's checks, and a car purchase. Little does Emily know is that this is the start of her downward spiral into a more violent world of credit card fraud.

Under the spotlight

The direction, plot, and storytelling are compelling, but flaws are evident in the production. The film remains consistent about standards in background checking, although the suspense doesn't seem to go with the dialogue. Perhaps to develop tension while establishing the plot, Ford resorts to Plaza's ability to be transparent and, at the same time, awkward in obfuscating what's really happening.

Most film fans are familiar with how Plaza's career took off. Starting as the deadpan employee in Parks and Recreation, then suddenly breaking away with hits like Safety, Not Guaranteed, and Ingrid Goes West, Plaza somehow became a voice for a generation of awkward and weird girls. This time though, she redefines herself. But it would take more than just a shift in stereotypes to change how audiences have come to know Plaza on and off camera.

The first few scenes are disturbing enough but fail to establish any silver lining for the protagonist that viewers may want to follow. Emily is quick to lead us into trusting Youcef the credit card thief (Theo Rossi) as he apparently understands what we are all going through. Emily opens herself up rather easily to the point that flirting and sharing dreams with him after a single intimate night is acceptable.

Still, as in most successful indie films wherein the camera follows the protagonists at least 80% of the time (e.g., Short Term 12, Into The Wild, or Wild), Ford suggests we still try to put on Emily's shoes and walk with her through the journey. The only problem is that there are many stops and forks in the road in Emily the Criminal that makes it difficult to follow her all the way.

Scriptwise, we see some semblance of the truth in how credit card scammers operate in the Western world. Onscreen, there's an apparent disconnection in how people from first-world and third-world countries interact. Somehow, either the subject of cultural differences gets lost along the story or Ford merely wants us to believe that Emily's character is simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, Plaza’s acting is enough to gain empathy from viewers.

Small-time crime

Emily the Criminal aims to be the voice of struggling low-pay employees in the U.S. Locals who resort to illegal activities perpetrated by immigrants. This diversity in action is the central vein that the film anchors on. With a good script, a realistic plot, and some reliable research, the film is supposed to reveal the current challenges that are happening in the U.S. labor scene. How Ford translated the details on film somewhat fell short as he chose to focus on a single character.

Of course, most titular films take on the single character perspective. But Emily the Criminal is not your typical eponymous film in how not many can relate to her predicaments. Perhaps, the film could have worked better if it somehow represented a broader demographic's story instead of merely telling one character’s story. The plot is excellent and relevan;.unfortunately, Emily may not be interesting enough to carry all of the film’s weight.

In hindsight, Emily the Criminal is a slow-burn that lacks the kind of drama that will glue viewers to the screen. It’s rather anticlimactic and could have used a bit more imagination to make scenes more memorable. No one would expect Emily the Criminal to match other big heist movies. But taking a peek at the lives of small-time criminals and how they get by may just not provide enough flavor to most crime-drama fans’ taste buds. And that is probably the film’s biggest crime of all.