Emily the Criminal (2022)

In Emily the Criminal, Golden Globe nominee Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus: Sicily, Parks and Recreation) stars as Emily, a young woman down on her luck and saddled with debt, who gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles. 

John Patton Ford won Best First Screenplay at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards and was nominated for the debut director award at the 2023 Directors Guild of America Awards. Emily the Criminal also picked up eight other international prizes, including being named one of the National Board of Review’s Top Ten Independent Films of 2022. 

Emily the Criminal has a 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “A taut thriller that contains a wealth of social commentary, Emily the Criminal is stolen by Aubrey Plaza’s terrific work in the title role.” L.A. Times calls it “gripping”; Collider “Intense”; and The Hollywood Reporter “nail-biting”.