Emily the Criminal (2022)

"Riveting Thriller With a Superb Central Performance"

One of the big hits of 2022's London Film Festival gets a DVD andBlu-ray release from Mediumrare Entertainment.

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is a young woman saddled with a huge student debt and, despite her college degree, is unable to get a job because of a previous conviction for assault. While working for a food delivery company a colleague gives her a number to contact with the promise of being able to make some easy money.

The next day, Emily earns herself $200 by buying a flatscreen TV with a stolen credit card and delivering it to the organiser of the scheme, Youcef (Theo Rossi), who promises she can earn $2000 if she's willing to do something more dangerous. Soon Emily is becoming something of a high roller in the credit card fraud racket, with all the double dealing and violence that entails. Will the offer of a job in graphic design bring Emily back to the straight and narrow? Or will she stick with her new more profitable line of work?

EMILY THE CRIMINAL has been likened to the Adam Sandler-starring UNCUT GEMS (2019) but there's something of a Breaking Bad feel to this one as well. Emily is in financial straits due to a misfortune that's not really her fault, and she turns out to be very good at a life of crime. Aubrey Plaza. who never delivers anything less than an interesting performance in anything she's in, excels here as Emily. She's in pretty much every scene in the film and she delivers a portrayal that's as hard-edged as it is sympathetic. Theo Rossi is also excellent as her boss who then becomes her boyfriend, and there are cameos from Gina Gershon and John Billingsley so it doesn't feel entirely a one woman show.

Medium Rare's disc comes with a trailer and two sound mix options but that's it. A commentary track from first time feature director John Patton Ford would have been welcome (apparently the film was shot in just 20 days) but don't let that put you off getting hold of one of what is likely to be one of this year's highlights.

EMILY THE CRIMINAL is out on DVD and Blu-ray from Medium Rare Entertainment on Monday 16th January 2023