More than a decade after becoming a regular onscreen presence on both TV and film, Aubrey Plaza somehow remains one of the most underestimated, underappreciated performers of her generation, the likely result of Plaza’s determined focus on character-driven, challenging indie roles as opposed to big-budget Hollywood blockbusters (of the spandexed or cape-and-cowl variety).
In role (Safety Not Guaranteed) after role (Ingrid Goes West), from conventional network TV (Parks & Recreation) to the outer reaches of cable (Legion), Plaza has been positively fearless, delivering boundary-pushing and career redefining performances, some odd, some bizarre, all not just watchable, but memorable as well.
In writer-director John Patton Ford’s feature-length debut, Emily the Criminal, Plaza plays the title role, an LA-based, marginalized ex-art student without personal or professional prospects who is repeatedly faced with no-good, terrible, bad choices (some less no-good, terrible, and bad than others) that turn the film’s title into a prediction rather than an observation. More than 10 years out of college, Emily faces a seemingly unpayable mountain of student debt ($70K), a day job at a restaurant without a future, and an obvious lack of friends or acquintances.
Only an…
