Red Sparrow
When I saw the teaser trailer for this film I was instantly hooked. It had a few things going for it. I am a fan of a well made spy thriller. I have yet to jump on that weird bandwagon of disliking Jennifer Lawrence so seeing her cast in a film like this was an exciting prospect. Lastly, the film seemed to be one that could have the right mix of style, sex, and thrill. I heard pretty bad things as I usually do, but I enjoyed it. Its not amazing or up there in terms of spy thrillers but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika a former Russian ballerina who is thrown into the world of espionage by her uncle. Dominika becomes a Sparrow, a spy who can give in to any target sexually while also retrieving classified information successfully. Dominika is then tasked with spying on a CIA operative and then starts to question where her loyalties lie. The film also enlists the talents of Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, and Jeremy Irons. It also reunites Hunger Games series filmmaker Francis Lawrence with Jennifer Lawrence (no relation… I think).
The film offers a lot of style, yes more so than substance. its shot well and the locale adds to the brand of the film. Lawrence’s accent seems wonky and I’m not sure its ever really easy to get used to. However, she’s good in this. She was also great in Mother! but got nominated for a Razzie for that, go figure. The film is long, maybe a little two long but I thought it was interesting enough. The film also offers brutal torture and violence and sexual scenes that will make people uncomfortable. Get past that and I think its a fairly decent spy thriller.
Its not overly smart and doesn’t offer any thing that makes you feel like you experienced an excellent twist or exquisite storytelling. The film does manage to meet expectations and offer a bit of beauty on the screen, despite the rather ugly and violent nature of the film. Lawrence is very committed to the role and I still believe she’s one of the best actresses in the industry today. Don’t expect anything spectacular, but go in to see a decently made spy thriller that does not shy away fro sex, torture and violence.
6.5/10
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