Nifty debut from late-starting writer/director John Patton Ford is more character study/violent amuse-bouche than full-fledged feature . . . plus, it ain’t clear if anyone involved knows how ‘amuse’ it is. Aubrey Plaza’s the character in question, a hard-luck gal saddled with debt and unable to turn her design talents into a job (she’s got a criminal record), while barely making ends meet at a food catering factory. The chip on her shoulder well earned, yet she can’t figure out that others don’t care how it got there. One way or another, she’s open to a tip that leads to quick bucks working a credit card scam, buying goods with phony cards loaded with stolen assets. It quickly escalates into a side-career under the watchful eye of entrepreneurial scammer Theo Rossi. He even brings her home to play proper girlfriend and meet his immigrant Mom; inadvertently meeting his more criminally established brother as well. Then, when things start to go wrong, he retreats into defeatism, tossing blame her way. And it’s his moping that triggers the revelation: she’s the real Alpha Player here, ready to pick up the baton from him. She hasn’t fallen into crime, she’s revealed her true self. (Plaza's off-putting honesty paying off dramatically.) Ford now moves fast, wrapping things up with a bit of serious violence and apparently setting up a continuing series he’s currently developing. With good support across a wide range of social levels, but showing a better eye for atmosphere than for action.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Ford may or may not be aware of the film’s comic undertone, but he's not without a sense of humor, hiding stolen cash in the refrigerator lettuce drawer.
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