How far would you go for a fresh start? That’s the question driving Aubrey Plaza’s titular character in the upcoming indie feature “Emily the Criminal,” a tense thriller from writer-director John Patton Ford set in the underbelly of black-market capitalism.
At the top of the film, Emily (Plaza) finds herself in a bind: She needs a job that will allow her to pay off her student loans, which are quickly gathering interest, but she can’t get one thanks to a minor criminal record.
A solution materializes in the form of a shady connection, Youcef (Theo Rossi), who offers her a gig. “In the next hour, you will make $200 cash, but you will have to do something illegal,” he tells her. “You won’t be in danger, but you will be breaking the law.”
As it turns out, Emily has a knack for “dummy shopping” – or purchasing items with stolen credit cards. But as her assignments evolve from buying TVs to far more valuable goods, so does the job’s level of danger. In several nail-biting sequences previewed in the trailer, Emily is violently attacked by different assailants, and she responds with vicious retaliation of her own. Whether Emily will escape debt- and jail-free is anyone’s guess, but one thing’s for sure: It won’t end prettily.
Written and directed by Patton Ford, the film also stars Megalyn Echikunwoke and Gina Gershon. It had its international premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival
“Emily the Criminal” will premiere exclusively in theaters on Aug. 12. Check out the full trailer above.
