There was a liminal moment in history where the esoteric and the futuristic were at war with each other. Of course I’m talking about when movie rental stores were about to come out and the Redbox machine at your local CVS or grocery store was the hottest place in town on a Friday night.

Too often, when we stood in front of that little red booth, we’d be saddled with a weak selection of two or three new releases – already taken by a more proactive client – and an assortment of indie films and direct to small and midsize films. budget. alternatives to DVD. But, every once in a while, taking a chance on the leftovers would prove fruitful, introducing you to a surprisingly smart and exciting new favorite.

If you’ve ever searched the confines of Redbox for residual entertainment, you’ll recognize Criminal Emily. It’s a movie you’ve seen before, a crime thriller disguised in a fancy disguise to make it a bit more appealing than similar DVDs of the past. But there can be comfort in the familiar, and Criminal Emily capitalizes on his modest nature with a hold, secret weapon performance of Place Aubrey in a role that seems scary to tell.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Criminal Emily stars Plaza as Emily, the criminal. Stuck in a dead-end contract restaurant deal, Emily is in the midst of a desperate search for a new job, one that will allow her to make a dent in the tens of thousands of dollars she owes in student loans that are quickly accrue interest. The only problem is that Emily already has a criminal record. And while she has no problem coping with her DUI misdemeanor and aggravated assault, her controversial personality prevents wayward employers from taking a chance on her.

One evening, Javier (Bernardo Badillo), a co-worker at Emily’s work, begs her to take his shift so he can attend his son’s baseball game. Emily reluctantly complies, and he tells her that as a thank you, he’ll come up with a way to earn $200 in an hour. All she has to do is text a number and go to the address that was sent to her. Although she has an old friend who keeps promising to give her an interview at an advertising agency, Emily is unable to turn down the money quickly.

The address she shows the next day is definitely not a place for someone with a criminal record, with its fluorescent lighting, loose wires, and generally sketchy vibes. Emily quickly learns what she knew all along: what she will be asked to do here, with a group of other people looking for easy money, is illegal. “You won’t be in danger, you won’t be putting another person in danger, but you will be breaking the law,” a man named Youcef (Theo Rossi) told the group. Anyone who wishes to leave can do so at any time, but Emily chooses to stay.

Fake IDs and fake credit cards with stolen card numbers are invented for everyone present. Their mission is simple: enter an electronics store, buy a television with the fraudulent card and leave. Upon delivery of the TV, they will be rewarded with $200 cash. How do they know the cards will work and they won’t get caught? They don’t. Both sides of the equation lead with blind faith in pursuit of a small windfall.

Even with a seemingly simple scam, Criminal Emily raises the tension as if it were a full-scale bank robbery. Writer-director John Patton Ford creates suspense by throwing Emily into situations that could turn her life upside down if she were to be arrested or even suspected of anything illegal. She may not be a career criminal, but her record is already filled with enough offenses that it would be impossible for her to force her way out of the grasp of the justice system if something were to happen. .

As Emily progresses in blue-collar crime, she’s forced to weigh the morality of what she’s being asked to do with her own needs in a world where the odds are stacked against her. It’s the same question that thousands of people ask themselves every day: how thin is the line between crime and survival while society keeps reform increasingly elusive?

When Emily takes on a bigger role in the operation by teaming up with Youcef, she makes a conscious choice to put down roots in the world she’s spent so long trying to distance herself from. But despite her actions, it’s impossible not to sympathize with Emily. She found herself inadvertently trapped after being sold the same dream as all other millennials: to go to college and take out loans to fund your future. Finally, the diploma will pay for itself! Except that, when life gets involved, this dream collapsing in crushing debt.

With any other track, Criminal Emily wouldn’t do as well at eliciting that kind of compassion from a viewer. space deadpan signature delivery and her undeniable charm make her the perfect person for the role. Any other choice for Emily could easily come across as too apathetic or apathetic. Her modest execution of Emily’s compulsions – whether low-level crimes or tough authority figures who see themselves as above her – makes for a completely gripping and unpredictable story. Once again we were given irrefutable proof that Plaza is one of the best young actors working today.

Yet the film is almost entirely devoid of the kind of risque that might really set it apart from other crime thrillers. None of the creative choices push the boundaries. And even with a lead as indisputably watchable as Plaza and a charming supporting performance from Theo Rossi (who should be every movie’s love interest, if casting directors were smart), Criminal Emilylike its main character, can never exceed the expectations of its audience.

And that’s exactly what I liked.

Every crime thriller now feels like it must have high stakes. It must be Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II speeding around Los Angeles in Ambulance in police pursuits, filmed using one of the two hundred drones of Michael Bay. Or Jake Gyllenhaal as a 911 operator. Or Jake Gyllenhaal as nervous night crime hunter.

These types of thrillers are fun, sure, but when they try to resonate on a deeper level, they end up failing. Criminal EmilyThe character’s focus on chaos allows us to sympathize with someone whose plight is likely not far removed from our own versions of financial hardship. It may not be a big narrative swing, but it works well on the film’s small scale.

Criminal Emily Perhaps reminiscent of the heyday of DVD rental kiosks in 2008, but it’s still just as exciting tenth time thanks to Aubrey Plaza. Pushed to the edge of the frontiers of capitalism, Emily de Plaza is a captivating anti-heroine, as electric as the stun gun she keeps by her side in case a job goes wrong. Its journey through the underworld of amateur crime doesn’t introduce any radical new ideas, but it’s what helps the film capture millennial post-recession malaise.

Things keep getting worse for Emily, just like the rest of us. The scariest thrills are the ones that hit closest to home.