High Stakes - Emily the Criminal (2022) Review
Credit card fraud has never been so harrowing in this crime thriller.
Why do I miss hour and a half long movies so much? The unique sense of satisfaction from a complete story told in one installment? The frustration with streaming’s focus on serialized stories with little breathing room? Overly long franchise films that just set up the next one?
Or just a declining attention span?
Whatever the reason, Emily the Criminal (2022) validates my preference for quality over quantity. The titular protagonist (Aubrey Plaza) finds herself stuck between failed job interviews, a criminal record, underpaid gig-work, student debts, and a life that won’t let up.
Through Youcef (Theo Rossi), Emily finds her long-awaited break - credit card fraud. But the sense of release is more than monetary, dragging her into a cutthroat world where no one really wins – they just wait their turn for the hammer to drop.
Harrowing with a droll sense of humor, Emily the Criminal is the sort of crime thriller that used to sweep academy award nominations and the box office, like Michael Clayton. Firmly rooted in the real world, both in terms of setting and subject matter, it still taps into the current heist film trend.
An oversaturated field but Emily the Criminal stands out with its heists’ simple plans and relatively mundane quarries, which are contrasted with personal stakes that feel their weight.
Like any good character drama, the star drives it forward. Aubrey Plaza is a perfect fit for a gradually derailing anti-hero and the actor points out how Hollywood has rarely bothered to depict women in that role. Emily is never fully villainized, but neither are her actions excused.
The film explores the consequences of her choices while acknowledging she would gladly have taken any other option.
Plaza’s performance is what fully realizes this, as the character’s sturdiness doesn’t feel at odds with her more vulnerable moments. Even if Emily the Criminal didn’t tap into real issues, Plaza’s depiction of mounting frustration with the world boiling into anger is the most compelling part of the film.
Emily the Criminal frames said rage in an easily appreciated way but uses that to help mislead the audience. By the time Emily and her accomplice are in over their heads, so is the audience. It’s too late when they start to question just what understandable grievances have masked.
Theo Rossi gives a great performance as Youcef, a Lebanese immigrant who ends up in a Bonny & Clyde type scenario with the student that soon surpasses him. Initial suaveness and expertise masks Youcef’s own uncertainties and obliviousness, both in matters of love and business.
Plaza and Rossi’s chemistry is solid and their shared longing for a better life shores up the film’s emotional core. Emily the Criminal depicts a “new” American Dream, where dwindling opportunities mean that you have to cheat to get ahead.
The shaky cam and attempts at naturalistic dialogue are at first jarring but the film puts them to good use once the story finds its footing. A narrative so rooted in real-world issues benefits from that approach, especially with such a stressful atmosphere. Using loud sound effects during the transitions is another trick that avoids overstaying its welcome and plays well with the constantly building tension.
Emily the Criminal uses plenty of modern trends while drawing from some older ones that I’ve dearly missed. Intense and enthralling, I’d strongly recommend it to anyone who’s been in the mood for a good thriller.