Emily the Criminal

Weighed down by $70,000 of student debt, LA resident Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is desperate. "I just want to be free," she cries - to travel, to live abroad, to draw as she did in art school. Then a colleague hooks her up with small-time crook Youcef (Theo Rossi) to earn $200 as a "dummy shopper", using a false credit card and fake ID to buy luxury goods. She does it, no questions asked. With the hunt for real work going badly, Emily becomes intrigued by the chance to earn more easy money. Written and directed by John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal moves like an indie thriller (with robberies, revenge), but exists very much in reality, where the gig economy and unpaid internships are the depressing norm. Aptly, Plaza ditches her usual snarky comic persona, going from stepped-upon to winner-takes-all confident. The film is not entirely convincing, with a backstory about a past felony and an unnecessary romance shoehorned in. But as the tension ramps up, you'll be rooting for Emily all the way.