You’ve certainly heard that old story of a mother lifting a car to save her child trapped underneath. How far can a mother really go to protect her child? Can a mother’s fight for justice turn cold and violent? Well, Rushed attempts to show just that kind of story.
Written by actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan, who also stars as the lead, and directed by Vibeke Muasya, Rushed is a 2021 thriller-mystery film that takes us into the life of an Irish Catholic mother out to get justice for her son. How chilling is the film really? Read and find out!
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
‘Rushed’ Plot Summary – Hazing Gone Wrong
Barbara O’Brien is a strict Irish Catholic mother who runs her family with a firm hand. Her son, Jimmy, has just joined college, where he is performing initiation rituals to get into the coveted Pi Xi Frat House. Jimmy’s outspokenness catches the attention of Steven, the Frat leader who – after Jimmy is initiated – spikes his drink with Xanax. Unfortunately, Steven overdoes it, and Jimmy is rendered comatose. His state is so bad that Barbara and her family are left with no choice but to pull the plug.
Barbara is convinced that her son was wronged and took it upon herself to do him right. What follows is a chilling tale of a mother seeking justice for her son.
‘Rushed’ Ending Explained – Did Barbara Kill Steven?
After failed attempts to get anti-hazing laws passed, Barbara decides to take things into her own hands. She lures Steven into her car, then forces him to drive to a secure location at gunpoint. There, she duct-tapes him to a chair and forces him to drink alcohol before calling his parents and firing a gun while they’re still on call. Later, it is revealed that she didn’t actually shoot Steven but only let his parents hear the gunshot so they would think he’s dead. Barbara is put on trial, where she reveals she only wanted Steven’s mother to feel frightened for a few minutes; no mother should have to feel that even for a moment. That was her revenge, a statement to show what she herself went through the night Jimmy died.
You need to know about Rushed that the film is more of a drama and less of a mystery thriller. It’s made clear from the very first scene that Jimmy would die/be wronged by a bully. Since we see precisely how Jimmy was drugged, the mystery angle is completely thrown out the window. As for the thriller, the hazing scenes are pretty chilling, but after Jimmy’s death, the film becomes a drama following Barbara as she talks to and records several mothers across the country whose sons died in similar hazing incidents.
The actual thriller part of the film only comes in the last 20 minutes or so, where Barbara takes matters into her own hands. However, that part feels very much rushed. Barbara’s desperation doesn’t feel very organic, and the end feels a little stupid. Just last year, we had a brilliant film like Promising Young Woman, which handled the concept of revenge so uniquely. Compared to the likes of that, Rushed doesn’t hold up.
However, the performances and settings, especially in the first half, are delivered strongly. The film’s only drawback is that it was positioned as a thriller-mystery but chose to be a drama until the very last act. As a thriller, the ending makes sense but not the middle. As a drama, the entire film is brilliant, except for the end. As a mystery, the film fails terribly. I will say this, though – the film is enjoyable and engaging enough to give it a watch.
In Conclusion
Rushed is a decently enjoyable film. Its desire to be a thriller-mystery-drama is weakened by its failure to find a balance between the three. Despite that, it’s engaging enough to keep you watching till the end. A lot of the developments in the film are believable, including the ending. The ending might seem very unsatisfying, but I can imagine some folks liking that too.
Watch it if you like revenge films, but don’t expect a full-fledged thriller/drama. Expect to find an odd balance between the two genres.
Rushed is a 2021 Drama thriller film directed by Vibeke Muasya from a screenplay written by Siobhan Fallon Hogan.
