20th Century Fox
Francis Lawrence directs Jennifer Lawrence as an acclaimed ballerina who is recruited to join the Sparrow program, a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her scummy uncle offers Dominika and her mother security in return for seducing a man that would help the government. After her mission goes terribly wrong, her uncle ups the stakes of his deal which leads to lock picking, an S & M watching class, and some very uncomfortable moments of Jennifer Lawrence embarrassing a fellow recruit.
Red Sparrow is filled with moments of pure awkwardness that had me looking over at other audience members to see their reactions. A lot of these scenes are important to the film and aren’t provided just for shock value. The frequent nudity serves a purpose to build the character of Dominika and how she can work her way to the top. Even though the intention was clear for the nudity, it was so frequent and risqué that I felt a little weird about watching it in a public theater.
Before seeing this movie, I couldn’t imagine Jennifer Lawrence nailing a Russian accent, but I was pleasantly surprised with her portrayal of the young Russian intelligence officer. There were many moments throughout this film that I forgot I was watching Jennifer Lawrence. She has appeared in other films where she gave better performances, but no other film Lawrence has done required so much from her. Lawrence’s Dominka exposes a lot of herself to obtain information for her country. Early in the film she is informed that her “body belongs to the state” and I found it interesting to watch her use it for the state as well as to break away from it.
Dominika is written as a young girl who risks everything to protect her future and that of her mother. Her motives for joining the Sparrow program are clear early on but as the movie progresses it’s hard to determine if her mind has been reprogrammed or not. There’s sort of a wall built around Dominika that blocks us from knowing who she truly is or fully understanding her.
Jennifer Lawrence stars alongside Joel Edgerton as Nate and they suffer from a serious lack of chemistry. Early in their relationship they’re trying to feel each other out while also flirting, which adds for some suspense as they let their guards down. As they become more comfortable with each other, it becomes obvious that they lack a spark that would make me believe they would risk it all for each other. By pairing the two most attractive people in their respective governments together, it leads to a few predictable scenes. Dominika’s mission is a clear-cut job but her feelings for Nate make the mission trickier than it needs to be.
Most successful spy thrillers offer a tight script that maintains a high level of suspense. Lawrence gives us that suspense as she manipulates men into giving information she wants. Those moments I found to be riveting and added something special to the movie. In the third act, Francis Lawrence amps up the suspense that leads to a satisfying ending. James Newton Howard provides the score for Red Sparrow which is dark, haunting, and works so well in the opening sequence of the film. The score is never upbeat which pairs nicely with the somber tone of the film.
As a spy film, Red Sparrow had some redeeming moments. Jennifer Lawrence was great in her role and surprisingly was believable as a Russian spy. Lawrence gives a brave performance and I applaud her for embracing her role and really going for it. The tone and score are consistent throughout but in the second act of the film, the intentions of Dominika become unclear and the film becomes a bit predictable. When it comes down to it, Red Sparrow feels like an average spy thriller that we’ve seen before.
12 Strong runs 2 hours 20 minutes and is rated R for strong violence, torture, sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.
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