WILLAMETTE WEEK: Your Weekly Roundup of Movies: “Emily the Criminal” Unleashes the Wrath of Aubrey Plaza
August 30, 2022
"Director Régis Roinsard’s adaptation of Olivier Bourdeaut’s bestselling debut novel starts where most cinematic love stories end, which doesn’t bode well for its central couple. The film opens with Georges (Romain Duris) lying his way through a party when he spies the glamorous Camille (Virginie Efira) dancing alone across the room. Instantly smitten with each other, they bond over fantasy backstories and run away to live happily ever after, living with blatant disregard for the consequences of their behavior. It seems like a romantic notion until the birth of their son, Gary (Solan Machado Graner), which forces Georges to face the reality of raising a family with the French equivalent of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl—while Camille succumbs to psychosis. As Gary watches his parents (and his world) crumble, Waiting for Bojangles emerges as a love story that goes beyond the chase and peers into the gritty emotional battle between what’s real and what we perceive to be love. It’s an uneasy thrill ride full of uncertainty, as any great love story should be. NR. RAY GILL JR. Fox Tower."
