Red Sparrow

Great plot - great twists - gritty - great acting by Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton. Amongst the best spy thrillers I have seen. Very satisfying conclusion.

The book, that 'Red Sparrow' is adapted from, is brilliant. It is very complex, but also very clever, suspenseful, intelligent and fun. As well as loving the book, the main reason for seeing 'Red Sparrow' was the cast which is a talented one and while not being blown away by the advertising it left me intrigued.

After seeing it, 'Red Sparrow' turned out to be a decent film in my opinion that flies high enough, but falls short of being great (like it could easily have been) meaning it doesn't quite soar. As an adaptation, it is a laudable one. The book is very difficult to adapt, but the film condenses it while still adhering to the spirit of the source material and what makes it so good and still making sense.

It is to me much better than the mixed critical reviews, while sharing a few of the criticisms, and is not a 1/10 film. A rating only reserved by me for films that have no redeeming qualities and don't try. 'Red Sparrow' does try and has a lot going for it, while being problematic, if anything leaning slightly towards the trying too hard side of the spectrum.

'Red Sparrow' has a very elaborate and suitably challenging story with plenty of twists and turns, the most shocking being the ending which will confound some but like with me haunt others. Luckily it is executed with a suitably cold and suspenseful touch, while having the intelligence to be involving and not taking itself overly seriously. A lot goes on and it's very complex content, yet the story doesn't feel too convoluted if perhaps over-stuffed in places.

Visually, 'Red Sparrow' looks great. In particular the scenery, landscapes and locations, which are wondrous and have such a lot of atmosphere and beauty. Made just as striking by the stylish photography, where the cold look suits the tone and subject very well, and slick editing. The music has its share of tension without intruding too much.

Script is smart and thought-provoking, again being challenging and elaborate enough without being too over-complicated. Francis Lawrence directs with cool confidence and personally that the violence and torture weren't that gratuitous, they are not for the faint-hearted certainly but for the subject the brutality was needed, is not overdosed upon and added to the full horrors of the situation.

Most of the cast come over very well. Jennifer Lawrence, hated a lot on IMDb but for me one of the better actresses today under 30, is in one of her most demanding roles here and she is not taxed by it at all and gives it everything, commanding the screen with ease. Frosty Charlotte Rampling, authoritative Jeremy Irons and menacing Matthias Schoenarts support her just as strongly.

For all those strengths, there are drawbacks. 'Red Sparrow' is a little overlong by about 15-20 minutes and there are times where the pace loses its tautness. Agree that the characters tend to be one-dimensional and although the cast are mostly very good the accents are less than great.

Joel Edgerton is out of his depth sadly too, having neither the charm or the intensity for such a role. He and Lawrence have very little chemistry, sexually or otherwise, meaning that the more intimate scenes lack sensuality.

Overall though, a decent and better than expected film but something was missing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I read a lot of negative reviews of this before I saw it, and although I was fascinated I was also dreading the horrifying torture scenes I'd heard about. But when I did see it myself I found it interesting, although I wish that it had been faster paced. I'd never seen a character quite like Dominika before. She was much more interesting than "Salt" and much more real than "Atomic Blonde". The characters were very memorable and believable and I am glad that I saw the film.

When we talk about the spy genre, most of us will shout "Bond. James Bond." in your best Sean Connery impression. In reality, and most certainly in my opinion, some of the best spy films are those that focus on espionage. For instance, the John Le Carré adaptations bathed in its dialogue as opposed to action. Red Sparrow attempts to replicate that. A famed ballerina encounters a career-ending injury who is then approached by her powerful uncle who eventually transforms her into a 'Sparrow' (not literally...). Russian operatives capable of seducing their targets, to which one of them being a CIA operative. It's cold, moody and revels in backstabbing and double-crossing, two intricately explored traits of the spy genre. Full credit to Jennifer Lawrence who gives yet another committed performance, using her sexuality and serious acting talent to deliver the goods. The Sparrow School segment was intrusively interesting, Charlotte Rampling was ominous and brainwashes her pupils with such ferocity. Those scenes and the interrogations surprisingly raised the tension. Whilst I was never bored and thought the pacing was decent, I left the cinema disappointed. A character-driven story that presents no characters worth investing in. The constant need to purposefully put on Russian accents was a detriment to the outstanding talent on screen, as if these actors couldn't multi-task. The dialogue is rarely intelligent and injects no personality into these characters. The consequence of turning an espionage thriller into a mainstream blockbuster is that it sacrifices an intelligent story so that the average viewer can understand the plot, thus subjugating to monotony. The 140 minute runtime didn't bother me, and fortunately the third act elevates the much needed tension with a few twists and turns but ultimately I remained underwhelmed. I appreciate the acting, the daring sexual violence and the cold atmosphere, yet a bland story with minimal characterisation prevents an engrossing thriller. I just wanted more...

Addressing the elephant in the room, there are moments in this movie that will leave you squirming in your seat. Normally this would be a major negative, but this is an intentional choice. For a movie with so much sex in it, little to none of it is hot or even sexy. I think this was a brave and chancy thing to show so much raw abuse and although it is graphic, it really underscores the traumatizing effect of what Dominika is subjected to. It is uncomfortable, but I think its more realistic than people want to admit. This is an adult movie dealing with adult themes and although there were times where I wanted to look away, it didn't dissuade me from wanting to see where Red Sparrow would go.

The other big criticism I hear when it comes to Red Sparrow is the running time. I don't hesitate to gripe about a movie when there's a lull in the middle or if they stretch the movie out another 15 minutes longer than they should, but I actually didn't think movie overstayed its welcome at all. There aren't many scenes that could have been cut or moments that didn't serve a purpose. If you were going in expecting Atomic Blonde, the lack of action might not be to your liking. But I never found Red Sparrow dull or poorly paced.

There isn't a ton of action in this movie but when this movie gets violent, you really feel it. Its raw, bloody and stomach churning. Its also done in a way that feels realistic and believable. There are some brutal torture methods and the hazing that Dominika and the Sector 4 students are subjected to doesn't pull any punches. The victims develop scars that they wear for the rest of the film (a nice touch that few movies do) and the discussions surrounding it are brash. But again, I enjoyed the fact that it felt a little closer to reality.

Jennifer Lawrence is still a top shelf actress but there's a chance of oversaturation developing with her celebrity status. I'm still of the opinion that she's one of the more talented lead actresses working and she does another fine job leading Red Sparrow. She's very reserved but she conveys Dominika's calculating nature and her shock and rage under a veil of indifference. She's powerful in drawing you into Dominika's story and all its rough parts. I would like to see her do this part again in a possible sequel. I'm a fan of Joel Edgerton but I didn't like him as much as Nate. But that may be more due to his character and I thought he got better as the movie went on. The surprise standout was Matthias Schoenaerts as Vanya. I've liked him in other movies, but it was normally in a thug like role. This was a big departure from that and he was great. Charlotte Rampling is suitably chilling as the Matron of Sector 4. Jeremy Irons and Ciaran Hinds are great, you just have to ignore the iffy accents.

My issues with Red Sparrow were minor and most of them were resolved by the end. The first one was that it seemed like Dominika and Nate were given way too much leeway to be realistic. Both of them keep having setbacks and face very little blowback but the movie addresses that. You also have a couple of sub-par accents but I could look past that too.

Speaking of that ending, I was really pleased with the direction they went with. This was one of the few movies lately that was able to keep me guessing and the ambiguity surrounding Dominika's motivations was essential to keeping the viewer in the dark. I watch a lot of movies and for the movie to come up with a genuine surprise made me want to pat the scriptwriter and the author on the back.

I think that this was a risky property for the studio to back and despite the troublesome nature of the plot, this was a good spy movie. It's more Jason Bourne than James Bond but it even feels topical with all the gender politics in the news right now. I think the movie is empowering in the fact that Dominika faces all this difficulty (and I can't stress enough that she goes through a $#!T storm) and she's not just using her body to get through this, its her mind that's her most valuable asset. I wouldn't mind checking out a sequel and although I think this will be a divisive movie, I would still recommend it if you can handle the subject matter.