Films and TV shows about drugs have become extremely frequent in the contemporary media landscape. We have become increasingly desensitised to seeing characters get high on our screens, usually because a lot of the time drugs are shown to elicit fun and excitement. Our fascination and intrigue with this taboo has also generated many stories examining how substances can have monumental effects on human life. These consequences have been documented a lot at this point, from films such as Requiem for a Dream to County Lines. Emmanuelle Pickett's feature film directorial debut manages to find a different view on this subject and focuses much more on how drugs can ruin lives through association. All Souls is a gruelling and emotional story about how there is severe collateral damage of innocents caught in the crossfire in the war on drugs.
A young single mother, River (Mikey Madison), is coerced against her will to become a confidential informant for the police against Silas (G-Eazy), an infamous drug lord and father of her child. After an undercover operation goes wrong, River soon finds herself fighting for her life and on the run to protect her daughter.
All Souls is a solid little thriller. It's a tight, fast-paced, no-holds-barred story of a mother's quest to protect her child. Clocking in at a short and sweet 80 minutes, it hits the ground running and never lets up the pace. Finally getting her due as a leading lady, Mikey Madison shines in this film and is quickly becoming a talent to watch. The fierceness and vulnerability she brings to River hold the film together as she becomes the emotional anchor of the narrative. The sound editing is also a standout, helping to build tension throughout. Mia Love Disnard is also worthy of praise, playing Madison's daughter, Jade.
Despite the good, All Souls is bogged down with several issues. One is that the narrative feels extremely rushed. The film doesn't waste a minute of its short runtime, but it feels like we miss a large amount of the film's set-up. We are flung into the story when River is already a confidential informant for the police but it would have been interesting to see how that came to be as it's such an integral part of the plot. More time could have been spent with River and her daughter at the beginning of the film to build more of an emotional connection to these characters.
The acting in some places is distractingly bad, and the dialogue is cliché. It's clear that the script would have benefited from further rewrites, just to add a bit more depth. The film also suffers from being painfully predictable, but at least it never overstays its welcome.
All Souls is a good yet slightly underwhelming thriller. The makings of a great film are all there: a fantastic lead performance, great cinematography, good sound design, and a story we are invested in. It just falls into a few too many tropes that hinder it from being a standout thriller, feeling like we have seen it all before.
All Souls is now available on digital platforms
