Emily the Criminal(2022)

R
1h 37m

Release Date: Aug 12, 2022 | Limited

Down on her luck and saddled with debt, Emily gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.

Releases

Original Release | Aug 12, 2022

Box Office

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$669,161
Total US & Canada:
$2,156,296
Total International
$1,377
Total Worldwide:
$2,157,673

Director & Top Cast

John Patton Ford
Director

Aubrey Plaza
Actor

Technical Specifications

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Summaries

Plot Summary

Emily lives in Los Angeles and is deeply in debt. She struggles to pay off her student loans, largely because a felony conviction prevents her from obtaining a well-paying job. Consequently, she delivers food as an "independent contractor" for a catering company. A co-worker connects Emily to a "dummy shopper" service that promises to make her $200 in one hour.The service is revealed to be a credit card fraud ring, and Emily meets Youcef, one of its organizers, who instructs her to purchase a flat-screen TV using a fake card and ID. The next day, Emily is sent on a larger job (purchasing a car on a no-limit credit card) which goes poorly after the dealer discovers the scam, leading to a physical altercation.Youcef tends her wounds and they discuss their aspirations. Emily, an aspiring artist, wishes to visit South America once her loans are paid off, while Youcef plans to purchase a rental property with the money made from the fraud ring.On her request, Youcef teaches Emily how to make fake credit cards on her own. He gives her a taser for protection, and instructs her not to sell stolen goods at her home or scam the same store twice in a week. Youcef lies about his involvement with Emily to his cousin Khalil, with whom he works.While dogsitting for her childhood friend Liz, a buyer for some of her stolen goods follows Emily to her apartment and robs her of her earnings, taking the dog. She tases the buyer and reclaims both.At a party, Emily learns that there is an opening at Liz's advertising agency, and that Liz has gotten her an interview with Alice, her boss. Emily invites Youcef to the party, which sparks a romance between them.At a dinner with Youcef's family, Khalil reveals that Emily has been caught hitting the same store twice within a week, prompting the store to post security footage of her online. This leads to a falling-out between Youcef and Khalil, who cuts him out of the fraud ring.Emily's job interview with Alice goes poorly after she discovers the job is actually an unpaid internship. When Emily objects, Alice insults her, calling her "spoiled".Youcef reveals to Emily that Khalil had not been paying him for several months. Further, the owner of the rental property he plans to purchase requests an immediate down payment and so he decides to rob the fraud ring itself. Youcef and Emily arrive at the ring's storage unit to find that Khalil has already taken everything, as well as emptying their shared business bank account.Emily convinces Youcef to confront Khalil at his safehouse, where they attempt to ambush him. Khalil attacks Youcef, severely injuring him, though Emily is able to subdue him using a box cutter. Taking the ring's money and assisting Youcef to his car, she realizes they have lost his car keys and cannot drive away. As police and ambulance sirens draw closer, Emily chooses to abandon him in his car and take the money for herself.The police eventually raid Emily's apartment and discover she is gone. Now living in South America, she returns to making art. Emily also establishes a credit card fraud ring of her own, recruiting dummy shoppers with the promise of making $200 in one hour.

Storyline

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a "dummy shopper," buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism, and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef. Together, they hatch a plan to bring their business to the next level in Los Angeles.

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