Director Francis Lawrence and Jennifer Lawrence are no strangers to each other in the movie realm. Lawrence was behind the camera for the last three installments of the Hunger Games trilogy. There’s an evolution in Katniss Everdeen’s character that sees her become a heroine of a movement, but struggle with the emotional weight of that role. For there was triumph, there was a bout of grief or something taken away from her.
Little did we know that familiarity was a primer for their spy thriller, Red Sparrow, which is based off of the 2013 Jason Matthews novel of the same name. The movie as a whole puts an emphasis on espionage and misdirects. The viewer is constantly wondering what motives are and where the end game will lead. When you think of a contemporary spy movie, you think of action sequences like the James Bond series. As far as action goes, these scenes are few and far between. The main focus is the “chess game” of secrets and the line between duty to yourself or your country.
Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Dominika Egorova, ballet dancer turned asset of the Russian government is the best part of the movie. The “sparrows,” utilized by the Russian Goverment are taught to be the means to an end. They are stripped of emotion and in turn, use that to infiltrate their targets and extract information. Lawrence is able to turn her emotions on and off throughout the movie where it keeps you guessing what side Dominika is on. The core of Red Sparrow is built off her performance. Keeping in mind that there’s an overall goal that’s set in the beginning of the movie – the safety and well being of her mother Nina (Joely Richardson). As the movie goes on, you start to wonder if Dominika has bought into the motive of the mission and where her allegiance lies.
There’s an interesting line that is shown with the relationship between Dominika and her uncle, Ivan (Matthias Schoenaerts). That relationship is a microcosm on how the state views women – just as tools. The fact that he could sacrifice his niece without flinching in a dangerous line of work makes you cringe in points. Dominika is put through torturous, somewhat degrading circumstances even from the beginning from Ivan and headmistress Matron (Charlotte Rampling). With that, she’s able to use her experiences to her advantage with a new spin.
Where Red Sparrow falters is some of the secondary pieces to the main story line. Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) is a CIA operative that eventually pairs with Dominika in his overall case. From there comes a love story that feels like it’s rushed and doesn’t have any substance to it. Given the pairing and the character development that the movie puts to the forefront, Edgerton’s character arch could have been given a little more substantiate direction. Actors like Jeremy Irons and Ciaran Hinds are relegated to the background to give Lawrence the room she needed to pull off the depth of her character.
The highs of the movie rank higher than the lows as Sparrow benefits from being a smart, layered spy movie. Where do you draw the line between the nationalistic intent of being a cog in the wheel of a country’s motivation? Is there a way to find some individualism and still have a need for something like emotion in the line of spy work? Red Sparrow asks these questions and for the most part, keeps you entertained by them.
Rating: 6.5/10
