Red Sparrow (2018)

Review

140min

Genre:       Mystery, Thriller

Director:    Francis Lawrence

Cast:         Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts…

Writers:     Justin Haythe and Jason Matthews

-Synopsis-

When a young Russian lady is recruited for ‘Sparrow School’—a rigorous intelligence program with a focus on seduction and manipulation—she becomes caught between multiple international spying efforts when her mission to expose a CIA agent goes awry, in this adaptation of Jason Matthews’s acclaimed novel which reunites the star and director of ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’.

After teaming up for three of the four ‘Hunger Games’ films and helping to launch a burgeoning acting career into the tinseltown stratosphere, superstar actress Jennifer Lawrence reunites with director Francis Lawrence for a modern Russian espionage thriller with Cold War overtones—taking full advantage of the star’s status as a Hollywood activist and poster girl for female empowerment to say a little something about sexual politics and gender equality along the way.

Lawrence stars as Bolshoi prima ballerina ‘Dominika Egorova’, forced by cruel misfortune and circumstance to serve the state and her influential uncle ‘Vanya’ (Matthias Schoenaerts), by using her beauty and seductive manipulation skills to become a ‘Sparrow’ intelligence agent—a dehumanising process which turns a spirited young lady into a calculating operative. But when her latest assignment places a very different type of spy in her crosshairs—CIA agent ‘Nate Nash’ (Joel Edgerton)—Dominika gets caught between desire and obligation, struggling to escape a web of deceit where nothing is as it seems.

‘Red Sparrow’ may not be a Cold War espionage thriller per se, but the stylistic and narrative fingerprints of a Soviet era spy drama are all over the film, not only through the dour mood and the atmosphere it tries to set, but also in terms of the setting and context in which it unfolds. Set in a resurgent and more confident Russia, moving on from the years after the fall of the Soviet Union and striving to leave a bigger global footprint, by openly challenging the world’s only remaining superpower—embracing their newfound capitalism but tempering this burgeoning democracy with a strong state apparatus . . . very reminiscent of days gone by.

The tone of the film however is one of the major factors which lets it down, which along with the narrative balance (or lack thereof) prevents this from being a truly gripping thriller, let alone a satisfying mystery. ‘Red Sparrow’ sits uncomfortably somewhere between a big studio spy action/thriller like ‘Atomic Blonde’ or the ‘Bourne’ series, and an edgy European or indie proposition like ‘La Femme Nikita’ or ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’—while trying to capture the stylish and subtle intrigue of ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’.

However it fails to hit the right notes on all the tones it attempts to straddle. Proving too uneventful and lacking in spectacle for a Hollywood studio picture while perhaps too provocative for naive eyes, yet rather tame and unoriginal when compared to European or independent cinema, despite a few gratuitous and unimaginative torture scenes—and it’s nowhere near as sexy or seductive as it thinks it is, while taking itself far too seriously and offering little in return in terms of being genuinely provocative or profound.

Despite a lack of consistent thrills for a thriller, and a limited amount of intrigue for a mystery which isn’t as concise and well-rounded as it could be, there are enough turns in the story to keep you guessing if not enthralled, and the final twist is certainly satisfying. There’s also enough depth in the principal character to keep you invested throughout, thanks to another impressive turn from Lawrence as a vulnerable and exploited yet icily determined woman, who never loses her inner humanity—a liberating performance good enough to overcome the star’s choice of an initially distracting ‘Russian’ accent.

There’s also no doubting the film’s style credentials, featuring slick production designs captured by Francis Lawrence ‘s ‘Hunger Games’ cinematographer Jo Willems, and scored in temperamental fashion by maestro James Newton Howard (The Sixth Sense, The Dark Knight). Whether by design or unlikely coincidence ‘Red Sparrow’ is also a timely and socially significant genre piece, feeding into the current Hollywood narrative of equality and female empowerment by depicting a woman exploited by a patriarchal society, who endures her trials and creates the opportunity to triumph against the odds.

When you put all the elements together, although certainly slick and atmospheric, ‘Red Sparrow’ is neither inspired nor particularly memorable, ultimately amounting to a reasonably captivating albeit overly long piece of moody escapist entertainment and spy fiction—which judging from the context and the tone of the film, is far less than what Lawrence & co. were going for.

The Bottom Line…

Stylish and well crafted but uncommitted as a thriller and lacking intrigue as a mystery, ‘Red Sparrow’ is a female empowerment tale wrapped in a spy story that’s a little too dour and unimaginative to make a lasting impression, but captivating enough to kill two and a half hours with—thanks to some satisfying twists and a weighty central character, brought to life by a stellar leading-lady.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

With undercover agents being eliminated and Western intelligence under threat at the end of the cold war, an MI6 super-spy is sent to Berlin to recover a valuable intelligence asset and deal with a soviet espionage ring, with the help of a rogue local British spy in this all-action adaptation of the Johnson & Hart graphic novel.

Directed by David Leitch and starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy and John Goodman among others.

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