Emily The Criminal: Crime Suspense Thriller

This movie received excellent reviews (Critics 93 and Audience 88 on Rotten Tomatoes), and it deserved them.  The main reason to see it is the AAW performance by Aubrey Plaza (as Emily), but it's also an interesting character study, as well as a taut and suspenseful thriller.  It has a powerful message, too.  It is the directorial debut for Writer/Director John Patton Ford. Emily has very serious, if not completely-unsolvable financial problems.  Although a fine portrait artist, she has $70,000 of college debt.  She can't get more than a minimum wage job because she as a DUI arrest, as well as a felony assault charge from a few years ago.  She is working for a food delivery service.  Although she tries her best to save, she can't even pay off the interest on her college loan.  She is getting increasingly anxious, depressed, and desperate.  She delivers food to successful people with high-paying jobs, but she's about as far away from the "American Dream" as one can get.  She doesn't even have any spare time to draw or paint to earn extra money as an artist. Emily does a co-worker a favor, and he gives her a phone number to call.  She is invited to a meeting where she learns about credit card fraud.  Emily decides to try it, makes $200.00, and then gets the opportunity to engage in further fraud deals.  She makes more expensive purchases, although with considerably higher risk.  However, she makes much more money on these, such as $2000.00 profit per fraudulent purchase. She also gets some instruction about how to run this business from one of the partners, Youcef (Theo Rossi), who likes (and is sexually attracted to) her.  The jobs become riskier and Emily has to worry about security at the stores, the police, and other criminals who want to steal what she has just stolen.  Youcef's partner, Khalil (Jonathan Avigdor), becomes increasingly angry and worried about Youcef's evolving relationship with Emily, which drives a wedge between them. The stakes get higher and higher, and the dangers become increasingly imminent.  Will Emily somehow wind up on the other side of this adventure intact, or will she get arrested, seriously injured, or even killed?  I hadn't heard of Aubrey Plaza, although she had played a character on "Parks and Recreation," but she was fantastic.  Rossi does an excellent job, too. Bottom Line: The movie's a winner!  The film skillfully points out the financial inequality and lack of opportunity for the lower class.  This country needs to find a solution to this problem, or things will only get worse!