Emily the Criminal (2022)

Emily the Criminal is about the downward spiral of a woman with nowhere else to turn but a life of crime.

John Patton Ford first film for which he has both writing and directing credits. I was genuinely surprised by this film. I didn't know what to expect from Ford and I only saw the film because of the lead. It's got really good pacing and camera choices. Also how he wrote Emily was perfect. The story sort of dragged a bit towards the end and the ending was predictable.

Emily is played by Aubrey Plaza for whom I have glowing regard. I'll watch pretty much anything she comes out with as long as she keeps putting out movies like this. She plays the character really well. She does what she can with the dialogue that has her on one note the entire time. You'd expect a negative character arch with a title like this and yet you'll still end up rooting for her. Empathy goes a long way. You might know Plaza from Safety Not Guaranteed, and Parks and Recreation.

Theo Rossi is in this movie and stereotypically typecasted as a criminal. He does a pretty good job, but there's not too much to his character other than being a connection to Emily. It's nothing wrong with Rossi, it's more so a writing issue. I remember him from Luke Cage and Army of the Dead but you might know him from Sons of Anarchy.

All writing issues aside I still enjoyed the movie. It's solid and good. I have no doubts about giving this movie a B.

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