Despite a limited release, this high-tension thriller starring Aubrey Plaza was a nice little success. The life of this film is taking a new turn since it will become a series.
Despite its small critical and public success in the United States, this high-voltage thriller went under the radar in France upon its VOD release, despite winning the Audience Award at the Deauville American Cinema Festival in 2022.
But this feature film had a second life when it was put online on Netflix and the curiosity of subscribers meant that it found itself in the top views on the streaming platform. And the journey of this mastered thriller does not end there since it will become a series.
“Emily, criminal despite herself” becomes a series
Deadline tells us that Lionsgate Television has acquired the rights to the film Emily, Criminal Against Herself to make a series. This seemingly unprepossessing B movie, filmed in just 20 days, is John Patton Ford’s first feature film.
He called on Aubrey Plaza, best known for her scathing humor and comedies, but who shines all the more in dramatic roles, as evidenced by her role in The White Lotus and in this film Emily, criminal in spite of herself.
She plays Emily, unlucky and drowning in debt, who is reduced to joining a network of credit card scammers. If this scheme changes her life at the beginning, Emily will gradually plunge into the criminal world of Los Angeles, with all the consequences that follow.
The actress’s performance is one of the major assets of the film, which is also based on its clever script, its permanent tension and its effective direction. AlloCiné spectators, who gave it a score of 3.2 out of 5, praise the tension of the film like Pierre-qui-roule, which indicates “a gripping film from start to finish. Permanent tension. An excellent thriller” and Hotinhere, who emphasizes “a gripping and at times very tense social thriller”.
Aubrey Plaza will not reprise her role as Emily but will serve as producer on this series project, alongside director John Patton Ford. At the moment, the series is only in the development stage and no television channel or streaming platform is yet attached to the project.
The film “Emily, Criminal Despite Herself” is available on Netflix if you want to catch up.
