“Mad Rush” is a brand new micro-budget thriller, shot in and around Melbourne, that sees Madisha running around the streets of Victoria's capital city in a race against time to save all the money she owns from a targeted scam. I have mentioned before how I love films where you feel the pressure of time passing and after watching the trailer for “Mad Rush” I thought it would be just like that, however the finished result is a little different. Whilst it does have manic race the clock moments within, it also gives Madisha time to stop and breathe too. That said, director Maddelin McKenna and editor Geri Docherty do an excellent job of keeping the pace up for the majority of the film, so you can fully share in the anxiety Madisha is feeling. They were also smart at paring the film right back to it's bare essentials and keeping the running time to a brisk 76 minutes; there is no extra fat on “Mad Rush”, which is to its benefit.
The thing that impressed me the most about “Mad Rush” was even though it had a micro-budget, what ended up on screen looked very professional and much more expensive than it obviously was. Thanks to Bonita Carzino elegant and crisp cinematography and again, Docherty's rapid editing, “Mad Rush” presents and exhausting fast paced Melbourne where everyday folk are doing all they can just to keep their heads above water during these tough economic times. Being from Melbourne myself, I must admit I had a fun time looking at all the streets and locations Madisha passed to try and work out exactly where she was in the city.
The rise of scammers is scary and something that I cannot stand because the thought of anonymous people, hiding behind their phones or computers, doing everything they can to fleece vulnerable people of their hard earned money, it just makes me sick and you have to wonder how these people are able to sleep at night. That said, I also think that some people set themselves up to be easy targets for scammers by simply trusting people they do not know or not protecting themselves properly over the phone or internet. Personally, I never answer my phone if it is a number I do not know, nor will I call a number back unless they leave a legitimate voice message asking me to do so. I also refuse to click on any link that has been emailed or texted to me. These are the very basics in protecting yourself. The scam in “Mad Rush” is much more intricate and involved, and if I had any negative regarding this its that it should have been obvious early that she was being scammed. I understand that they are preying on her love for her friends and family, and pressuring her and not giving her time to stop and think, but that in and of itself should have been enough to set Madisha's spidey sense off. The other issue I had with this part of the film is that it is very hard to hear exactly what the scammers are saying over the phone to Madisha, what instructions they are giving her. I am not sure if this was a deliberate choice from director Maddelin McKenna or if the sound design was a little off, but it personally took me out of the film a bit as I strained to listen, which bothered me.
Outside of the thriller aspects of “Mad Rush”, there are also a few scenes where Madisha gets to breathe for a bit and try to work out what the hell is actually going on. During these scenes she crosses paths with a number of people, some she knows and some of them strangers, and for me, these small scenes are the absolute highlight of “Mad Rush” and what elevates this little film into something special, because these moments feel so true and human. Towards the end of “Mad Rush”, Madisha takes refuge in an old church and ends up talking to the cleaners of said church, who happen to be husband and wife. The couple check on Madisha to see if she is okay which begins a very natural conversation between the three of them, which is also something of a turning point for Madisha as she begins to discover her true worth and what she needs to re-calibrate her life to get back on track. It is such a wonderful scene, that is also quite funny, as the husband is a bit of a goofball, but again, it felt so genuine. There is also a similarly great moment in an Uber where Madisha gets to chatting to the driver about his own life and what he wanted when coming to Australia. The casting of these small roles are top notch, in fact all of the minor roles and background people have been chosen so well, giving “Mad Rush” a true sense of reality, which can be hard to capture in a movie.
The lead role of Madisha is played by newcomer Senuri Chandrani and while she is serviceable in the role, and has these big beautiful expressive eyes, at times I felt her portrayal was a little too aloof, particularly for the high stress environment she found herself in. This will sound like a funny thing to critique but I did like the fact that she looked like she knew how to run during the scenes that involved her to do so. It is amazing how many times you see people running in films that look like a baby giraffe finding it's legs, and it is a quirky pet peeve of mine, which thankfully is not an issue in “Mad Rush”.
Overall, “Mad Rush” is an excellent, fast paced scammer thriller that succeeds in producing the thrills, while looking so much richer than it obviously cost to make. This is all thanks to Maddelin McKenna's energetic direction, Bonita Carzino's slick cinematography and Geri Docherty's precise editing. While it has a couple of minor flaws, at the end of the day, this is a micro-budgeted film that is well worth seeing.
3.5 Stars.
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