With her Oscar win for Anora, Mikey Madison has officially cemented her place among the most exciting performers of her generation. So it comes as no surprise that distributors have dug up one of her earlier leading roles in All Souls, a lean and gritty crime thriller that’s finally seeing release in Australia. While the film itself doesn’t reinvent the genre wheel, it’s a compelling showcase for Madison’s extraordinary range and undeniable screen presence.
Directed by Emmanuelle Pickett, All Souls casts Madison as River, a young single mother doing everything she can to shield her five-year-old daughter, Jade (Mia Love Disnard), from a world that’s constantly threatening to consume them both. River’s backstory is one of bad choices and desperate survival—once involved with a dangerous crowd and now coerced into working as a police informant, she’s tasked with infiltrating a violent drug cartel. The twist? That cartel is led by her ex, Silas (played with icy detachment by rapper-turned-actor G-Eazy), who also happens to be Jade’s father.
The film wastes no time getting to the point, at just 81 minutes long, it’s stripped of fat and maintains a breathless, kinetic energy from start to finish. This brisk pacing works to its advantage. There’s a constant sense of momentum as River plunges deeper into a world of danger and betrayal. Once her cover is blown and Jade is kidnapped, All Soulsbecomes a tense chase film, with River scrambling to outwit her enemies and rescue her daughter before it’s too late.
Visually, the film is slick, with a moody colour palette that matches its themes of desperation and deception. Action sequences are tight and effectively staged, especially for an indie production. However, despite its polished execution, the story remains disappointingly familiar. We’ve seen cartel thrillers like this before—Sicario, Miss Bala, End of Watch—and All Souls doesn’t quite manage to carve out its own identity among them. It relies heavily on genre clichés: the conflicted informant, the stoic kingpin, the dirty cop. G-Eazy, while serviceable as Silas, never brings the menace or complexity needed to make the character truly memorable. He looks the part, but the performance lacks gravity.
One curious element is the film’s fleeting flirtation with Día de los Muertos imagery. In the opening sequence, River and Jade paint their faces with Sugar Skull makeup, hinting at a deeper cultural or symbolic layer. Unfortunately, this motif is barely revisited, leaving it feeling tacked-on rather than thoughtfully integrated into the narrative. It’s a missed opportunity to give the film some visual or thematic resonance.
Yet for all its narrative shortcomings, All Souls remains entirely watchable thanks to Madison’s magnetic turn. She brings a raw, lived-in quality to River, balancing vulnerability with strength, fear with ferocity. You believe her when she’s panicked, and you root for her when she takes control. Madison elevates even the most pedestrian scenes, making River a fully fleshed-out character rather than just another action-thriller archetype. It’s a performance that shows exactly why she’s become such a critical darling—this is the kind of grounded, emotionally charged work that makes an otherwise generic film feel essential.
Ultimately, All Souls is a solid if not particularly original thriller. It hits all the right beats, offers a few tense set-pieces, and moves quickly enough to hold attention throughout. But it’s Mikey Madison who makes the experience worthwhile. Her performance alone transforms All Souls from a forgettable genre entry into a must-see for fans of her work, or anyone interested in watching a star continue to rise.
