Does Youcef Die in Emily the Criminal?

‘Emily the Criminal’ is an intriguing thriller film that revolves around an organized credit card scam. Emily is a caterer with a massive student loan to pay off but cannot get a good job. To make quick money, repay the debt, and start her life, Emily becomes a dummy shopper. Emily does a job for Youcef and Khalil, two brothers who run the fraudulent operations. But Emily gets in too deep and reaches a point of no return.

In the film, Emily and Youcef develop a close relationship which makes Emily feel comfortable enough to do more illegal jobs. However, a mistake on her part causes a rift between Youcef and Khalil, leading Youcef to take drastic action that endangers his life. Although Youcef’s fate is ambiguous, we’ve got a few thoughts on the matter.

Emily and Youcef start working together to make more money. However, Khalil disagrees with this, and after Emily comes under the radar of a law enforcement department, Khalil cuts all ties with Youcef. Youcef is livid because he has lost everything and can’t buy his dream house for his mother. So, Youcef and Emily decide to steal everything from the warehouse and start their separate business. Before the two can do so, Khalil clears all goods from the warehouse and withdraws all money from Youcef and his joint account.

Emily and Youcef go to Khalil’s place to take what’s theirs by any means necessary. However, Khalil is prepared and surprises the new partners. Khalil hits Youcef on the head, and the latter falls to the floor. Following this, Khalil tries to kill Emily, but she uses a box-cutter knife to stab Khalil in the side of his abdomen. As Khalil bleeds, Emily gets the money and gives him a phone to call the ambulance. She picks up Youcef, who is bleeding profusely and is unable to walk, and brings him into the car. As Emily tries to find the car keys, Youcef passes out. Emily decides to steal the money and leave. Although we know what happens to Emily, we do not know if Youcef dies. Here’s what we think happened to Youcef. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Does Youcef Die?

Youcef most likely dies because his injury is severe, and he is not taken to the hospital in time. After Khalil knocks his brother out with a hammer, he instantly becomes disoriented. As he lies on the floor bleeding, he can barely move to save Emily and fight against his brother. When Emily takes him to the car, she asks him to stay awake because it’ll become difficult to save him if he passes out. Youcef seems to have little recollection of what happened a few moments ago. As he murmurs about it, Youcef’s eyes close, and he faints. Emily looks at the bag and realizes that while there’s no hope for Youcef, there’s still a chance she will escape by taking the money.

So, Emily takes the money and runs off. In the final moments, we see her start her own dummy shopping business in South America. Emily uses the exact words Youcef told her when she worked with him for the first time. The scene is a subtle way of showing how Emily has taken Youcef’s place. The film comes full circle when she repeats the exact sentences because she is Youcef now. But most importantly, it hints at the possibility that Youcef is dead. If Youcef were alive, the poetic moment’s symbolism would diminish to a certain degree. Thus, when we consider the severity of Youcef’s head injury, his passing out, and Emily symbolically taking Youcef’s place, it is likely that Youcef dies.

Read More: Emily the Criminal Ending Explained

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