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Mikey Madison is one of the rising stars of the moment. Fresh off her Oscar win, she’s reportedly fielding offers from various studios and directors, and for good reason. Madison’s lead performance in Anora proved she’s up for pretty much anything, able to be funny, intense, emotional, and raw, sometimes all within the same scene. It’ll be great to see what this recent Oscar winner does next.
With this in mind, this list reflects on all nine of the feature films Madison has appeared in so far. They’re a diverse bunch, both in tone and in quality, ranging from petty awful to modern classics. She shines in some of them, while others give her little to work with. (In fact, probably her best early performance isn’t in a movie at all but rather as Max Fox in Pamela Adlon‘s TV series Better Things.) The following films include low-budget dramas, horror sequels, and a Tarantino masterpiece, proving Madison has a surprisingly versatile career for someone so young.
9
‘All Souls’ (2023)
Directed by Emmanuelle Pickett
“You think you know the streets, but the streets know you better.” Probably the weakest feature Madison has appeared in so far is All Souls, a shaky crime drama. She leads the cast as River, a single mother coerced into becoming a confidential informant for law enforcement. Facing legal troubles and the threat of losing her child, River agrees to infiltrate a dangerous drug cartel operating in her neighborhood. It’s a decent (if unoriginal) premise, but the execution is lackluster.
The writing is flimsy, handing the leads plenty of lame or wince-inducing lines. Madison does her best with what little the script gives her, but saving this dud is beyond her talents. Her co-star, rapper G-Eazy, fares a lot worse, struggling to flesh out his character. As a result, All Souls feels painfully overlong despite being just 81 minutes. Overall, All Souls offers little reason to seek it out, even for Madison stans.
All Souls
- Release Date
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December 8, 2023
- Runtime
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81 Minutes
- Director
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Emmanuelle Pickett
8
‘It Takes Three’ (2021)
Directed by Scott Coffey
“Sometimes, to win someone’s heart, you need to be someone else.” It Takes Three is a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, but set in a high school (this conceit has been done before, mostly by Disney Channel). Madison plays Kat Walker, the object of affection for the protagonist, Cy Berger (Jared Gilman). While the movie has good intentions, it’s ultimately not that creative, nor are its protagonists particularly engaging. The whole thing is formulaic and predictable.
It Takes Three is undeniably sweet, but most of its characters are cardboard cutouts (though Madison is fairly charming), and the plot rehashes storylines we’ve seen a million times before. There’s little character development to be found, and what little there is feels forced by the dictates of the plot rather than emerging organically. Plus, the tone is very uneven throughout. While some younger viewers may enjoy the teen drama, most viewers will want to give this a miss.
7
‘Nostalgia’ (2018)
Directed by Mark Pellington
“Memories are all we have, in the end.” Madison has a minor part in this drama as a side character, Kathleen. Nostalgia is a drama that weaves together multiple narratives, each reflecting on how objects hold sentimental value and the stories they carry. The impressive ensemble cast includes Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Nick Offerman, Amber Tamblyn, Patton Oswalt, and Catherine Keener.
It’s a lot of talent in one place, yet the film doesn’t do all that much with its stars. Hamm is entertaining, and Burstyn turns in a moving performance, but the story itself struggles to maintain momentum. The pacing is off during certain stretches, and the ending isn’t a worthy payoff for all the buildup. As a result, while not terrible, Nostalgia is pretty boring and sometimes cloyingly sentimental. A few of the lines are totally overwritten, too, bordering on intentional comedy. Not to mention, the unrelentingly somber vibe gets a bit much.
6
‘The Addams Family’ (2019)
Directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan
“Every family is different, but some are more different than others.” Madison makes a small appearance in this animated Addams Family movie, lending her voice to the side character Candi the Barista. Once again, this project has a stacked cast — Charlize Theron, Oscar Isaac, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Nick Kroll all appear — that winds up being pretty meh. It adds little to the franchise’s mythology, and its overly sweet tone clashes with the darkness fans know and love.
The animation is good, nicely paying homage to the original cartoons, and the voice acting is solid. Where this version of The Addams Family stumbles is with the plot and writing. The movie is only 86 minutes long, yet it tries to juggle three storylines, failing to develop any of them adequately. Plus, by being targeted toward much younger viewers, it fails to get as spooky and macabre as it should. In short, a waste of potential.
5
‘Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey’ (2017)
Directed by Terry Sanders
“I guess sometimes you have to lose your way to find yourself.” This movie follows Liza (Madison), a teenager who embarks on a motorcycle journey along the California coast during the 1960s. It’s meant to be one last adventure with her boyfriend (Sean H. Scully), who has to move to New York. Their trips unfold against a backdrop of cultural upheaval, including the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the sexual revolution.
This concept holds a lot of promise, but Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey lacks the rich characterization needed to make us really care for the protagonists. The script is underdeveloped and could have used a rewrite. In general, the movie is let down by its lack of resources. It’s clearly a low-budget affair, and while some movies make efficient use of their limited elements, Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey struggles, possibly because it’s trying to recreate the past. Its vision of the ’60s feels inauthentic and frail, meaning the viewer never fully immerses themselves in it.
4
‘Scream’ (2022)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
“It’s always someone you know.” Things improve dramatically with 2022’s Scream, which is a fine installment in the beloved slasher franchise. It blends legacy characters with new faces, creating a fresh narrative that pays homage to the original while introducing contemporary themes. Madison takes on the role of Amber Freeman, a character who initially appears as a typical teenager but is later revealed to have a darker side. She’s joined in the cast by Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, and Jack Quaid.
Scream succeeds because it leans into the series’s meta-slasher formula. In particular, it playfully riffs on the idea of a “requel,” becoming wonderfully self-aware rather than overly serious. Action-wise, there are a few tense sequences and some hard-hitting kills, culminating in an appropriately pulse-pounding climax. Madison is a standout, as the third-act twist allows her to display the same unhinged energy she brought to her breakthrough role in a certain 2019 revisionist history movie that we’ll revisit further up this list. While obviously falling far short of the two original installments, this Scream movie still packs a punch. It’s a ton of cheeky, bloody fun.
3
‘Monster’ (2018)
Directed by Anthony Mandler
“Every decision has a consequence.” Madison only has a small part in this, but Monster is a solid enough legal drama that it merits a high spot on this list. It’s about Steve Harmon (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker whose life is upended when he is accused of being an accomplice to a robbery-turned-murder. Steve’s trial serves as the crux of the narrative, examining flaws in the legal system and society’s rush to conclusions.
The movie is occasionally heavy-handed, but the message is urgent, and the lead performances are top-notch. Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson play Steve’s parents with a lot of warmth, while A$AP Rocky is also surprisingly good in his supporting part. The star of the show, however, is Harrison Jr., who has to do most of the heavy lifting. He’s subtle and believable, elevating the material. All in all, Monster makes for a fresh take on courtroom drama.
Monster
- Release Date
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June 29, 2018
- Runtime
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90 minutes
- Director
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Matt Shaw
2
‘Anora’ (2024)
Directed by Sean Baker
“Sometimes, love is just another transaction.” Perhaps the movie that will forever define Madison’s career, Anora focuses on Ani, a Brooklyn stripper and sex worker who unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the world of unimaginable wealth after marrying Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. Director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project) tells this story with hyperrealism, making it both an intimate drama and a social statement.
Fast, sharp-witted, and packed with energy, Anora manages to be both a madcap adventure, a dark comedy, and a moving drama. It borrows structural elements from the comedies of Howard Hawks but infuses them with devastating moments of bleakness. A standout is the scene where Ani resists the Russian goons, smashing up a luxurious lounge in the process, their brawn unable to stop her fierceness. Anora plays to Madison’s strengths and allows her to explore emotions on-screen she’d only hinted at previously. It’ll be fascinating to see what projects it unlocks for her going forward.
1
‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2019)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
“I’m the devil, and I’m here to do the devil’s business.” Sorry, Sean Baker, but the best movie Madison has appeared in to date is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Ranking among Quentin Tarantino‘s most mature and ambitious works, it’s a love letter to 1969 Los Angeles, blending real history with revisionist fantasy. Madison plays Susan “Sadie” Atkins, a member of the Manson Family, who becomes a key player in the film’s shocking, classically Tarantino reimagining of history.
While the real-life Atkins played a major role in the infamous Tate murders, Tarantino flips the script, leading to a brutal, darkly comedic climax where the would-be killers are violently dispatched by stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) and fading TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio). Madison’s portrayal of Sadie is unhinged and ferocious, embodying the manic devotion and disturbing ideology of the Manson cult. Her performance during the climax—where she unleashes a hysterical, expletive-laden tirade before meeting a flamethrower-fueled demise—is one of the film’s most memorable moments and a perfect way to announce herself as a talent to look out for.
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