Emily the Criminal (2022)

 Written and directed by John Ford Patton, his first feature film. A tale of the other side of the gig economy. Emily is just girl, a young woman, holding down crappy jobs, buried in debt, trying to make some money, trying to get out from under it and feel a bit free. She finds criminal enterprise, specifically, credit card fraud, and one violent, traumatic episode after another ensues, ending in tragic loss. But along the way Emily finds herself, her strength, and her freedom, such as it can be and is. As docudrama this movie is prescient, edgy: mounting debts, degrading jobs, carving out a living in the cracks and margins of society. But the story is a woman's Hero's journey, trial by fire, how Emily becomes Emily the Criminal, not entirely believable, but what the hell, a romantic take-this-job-and-shove-it stab at low income work in the dystopic gig economy present. And that our protagonist is the gothy office girl from Parks & Recreation makes the ride near triumphant. Romantic survivalism circa 2020s.