The film follows Emily (played by Aubrey Plaza), a college student who takes on a side hustle as a fake buyer for a credit card scam, only to find herself in deeper trouble.

The story follows Emily (Aubrey Plaza), a young woman in Los Angeles struggling to pay off $70,000 in student loans. Because of a minor criminal record, she is locked out of high-paying professional jobs and works a low-wage catering gig as an independent contractor.

While physical copies are available, the script is often hosted on awards season sites like Awards Daily or The Script Lab . Highly recommended reading for anyone studying the crime genre.

John Patton Ford’s screenplay for is more than just a crime thriller—it is a sharp, modern fable about the "American Dream" turned nightmare. If you are looking for the Emily the Criminal script PDF , you’re likely interested in how Ford balances social commentary with a high-stakes genre structure. The Hook: The Triple Interview Structure