When
restaurant worker Emily, starts to get her hours cut due to being late for
work, she takes advice from a co-worker to take up an odd job, unaware that odd
job is a criminal job. Intrigued by the money she can make Emily
accepts the job and all goes well. However, when Emily takes up another
criminal task and escapes by the skin of her teeth, Emily confronts her
employer about the nearly failed job, but in doing so, Emily learns about
building a criminal empire, and falls in love.
A
commentary on the wealth gap, wage gap, non-paid internships, worker's rights,
immigrant survival, student debt and capitalism’s responsibility to crime.
Emily the Criminal is a Safdie brothers-esque crime drama about real people,
and the lengths they will go just to survival in a cold, capitalistic society
in front of an LA back drop. As Emily gets further into the crime world, it
mirrors the office politics of climbing a corporate ladder to further a career,
such as asserting confidence and force towards someone to complete a project or
to recurved back a bag of drugs. Partly inspired by The Wire, the film explores
immense fiscal status of any kind being acceptable, as long as it presents
wealthy within rich circles and furthermore how love changes our focus and influences
us make decisions for someone we love, and that could ultimately take us of
course, career wise.
Aubrey
Plaza does great work as a frustration Millennial trying to pay the game of the
straight and narrow with realization that capitalism doesn’t have many options
when playing within the law.
Emily
The Criminal is an immigrant story at it’s core, and it’s resolution
ironically, gently reinforces the notion of success being created through focus
of smarts to get ahead in a money obsessed society with tricks of the trade.
8/10.
- Maurice Jones
