2aguy
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2014
- 111,972
- 52,240
- 2,290
A good movie, and a good review of that movie. A small budget story that is a good story about a woman who turns to crime through mistake after mistake......character driven, low budget, but really good....
In this fascist and pedantic Age of Woke, you expect 105-pound Emily to punch out 185-pound guys and be a virtuous victim of Predatory Capitalism.
Ford is too smart for that.
If Emily’s a victim of anything, it’s her own bad life choices. Her $70,000 student loan is for an art degree. Dumb. Her felony conviction is for hitting a boyfriend. Dumb. She lies to potential employers. Dumb. She does illegal drugs. Dumb.
But she’s not dumb. In fact, her resourcefulness is one of her best qualities and what gets her out of more than one jam involving the aforementioned 185-pound guy.
In other words, Emily is a fascinating character, and what makes her fascinating are her flaws and contradictions, and weaknesses. Emily is no Mary Sue, no Girl Power Stand-In, and no boring Rey from Star Wars. Although her goal is to become a better criminal, she’s still a protagonist we side and empathize with. Why? Not because she’s a criminal but because she is relatably human. And even as a criminal, Emily struggles and makes mistakes. You can’t not root for her. Along the way, you also hope she will figure it out, get her act together, and grow up. In other words, you’re with her all the way, even after she makes the reckless and unnecessary mistake that delivers a shocking third act.
Twenty years ago, Emily the Criminal would play like another terrific genre picture. That’s not a criticism. My point is this: in today’s cinematic world of terrible filmmaking, Emily the Criminal feels like a revelation, a breath of fresh storytelling air that dares to explore human nature as it is.
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This is how movies used to be made. This is how it’s supposed to be done.
www.breitbart.com
In this fascist and pedantic Age of Woke, you expect 105-pound Emily to punch out 185-pound guys and be a virtuous victim of Predatory Capitalism.
Ford is too smart for that.
If Emily’s a victim of anything, it’s her own bad life choices. Her $70,000 student loan is for an art degree. Dumb. Her felony conviction is for hitting a boyfriend. Dumb. She lies to potential employers. Dumb. She does illegal drugs. Dumb.
But she’s not dumb. In fact, her resourcefulness is one of her best qualities and what gets her out of more than one jam involving the aforementioned 185-pound guy.
In other words, Emily is a fascinating character, and what makes her fascinating are her flaws and contradictions, and weaknesses. Emily is no Mary Sue, no Girl Power Stand-In, and no boring Rey from Star Wars. Although her goal is to become a better criminal, she’s still a protagonist we side and empathize with. Why? Not because she’s a criminal but because she is relatably human. And even as a criminal, Emily struggles and makes mistakes. You can’t not root for her. Along the way, you also hope she will figure it out, get her act together, and grow up. In other words, you’re with her all the way, even after she makes the reckless and unnecessary mistake that delivers a shocking third act.
Twenty years ago, Emily the Criminal would play like another terrific genre picture. That’s not a criticism. My point is this: in today’s cinematic world of terrible filmmaking, Emily the Criminal feels like a revelation, a breath of fresh storytelling air that dares to explore human nature as it is.
--------
This is how movies used to be made. This is how it’s supposed to be done.
‘Emily the Criminal’ Review: Superb Crime Drama Available on Netflix
Emily the Criminal is the promising feature debut of writer-director John Patton Ford and available on Netflix.
www.breitbart.com
