I missed Emily the Criminal at Sundance this year so I went to see it at the Broadway last night and I found it to be incredibly compelling and thought provoking. Emily Benetto (Aubrey Plaza) has a menial job as a delivery person for a catering company because she is unable to get a better paying one due to a felony conviction on her record. She can barely pay the interest on her exorbitant student loans so, when a colleague offers her an opportunity to make $200 for an hour of work, she is intrigued. She discovers that this "opportunity" is a credit card fraud ring run by Youcef (Theo Rossi) and she is asked to buy a flat screen TV with a fake credit card and ID. Her next job, which involves buying a car, turns violent when the scam is discovered. However, in her desperation, she becomes more and more involved with the ring and Youcef with even higher stakes. This is an interesting and timely exploration of how difficult it is for working class people to get ahead in a late capitalist society and Emily is a character that many, unfortunately, can relate to. She is not really meant to be viewed as a hero because a lot of her actions are reprehensible but it isn't hard to sympathize with her, especially after the humiliation she experiences when trying to explain her criminal record during job interviews, asking for more hours at a job in which she has no rights or benefits, and serving catered lunches to her condescending peers. Plaza, who is hit or miss with me, gives a fierce and powerful performance that is definitely one of the best of her career. This movie is a bit under the radar but I think it is well worth seeking out and I recommend it.
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