Red Sparrow *** (2018, Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons, Ciarán Hinds, Joely Richardson) – Movie Review

Jennifer Lawrence holds the screen but is hard stretched to convince as a Russian ballerina turned spy in Red Sparrow.

Jennifer Lawrence holds the screen but is hard stretched to convince as Dominika Egorova, a Russian ballerina who has a career-ending injury on stage and is forced by her creepy uncle (Matthias Schoenaerts) to turn undercover operative, after abusive training at spy school run by Matron (Charlotte Rampling), promptly falling in with CIA spook Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), who is protecting the name of a top Russian mole. There we are, the entire plot of a twisty 140-minute spy movie in one sentence – not bad, huh?

Russian spy thriller Red Sparrow is a reunion for J-Law and director Francis Lawrence, who directed the final three Hunger Games movies. Red Sparrow is okay, and fairly enjoyable, but it is a bit slow, sluggish, sadistic and sleazy – and way too long – with several hammy performances from the likes of Jeremy Irons, Ciarán Hinds, Douglas Hodge, Charlotte Rampling, Joely Richardson and especially Mary-Louise Parker.

The heavily British cast doesn’t really do it any favours and Australian actor Edgerton is not ideally cast. To be fair to the actors, they have an uphill struggle as there are some weak characterisations and some poor dialogue in an uneven, mixed script as strong scenes mix with much weaker sequences.

Red Sparrow is written by Justin Haythe and based on a 2013 novel by Jason Matthews, a retired CIA operative. Though a bit cheesy and old-fashioned, the story itself is not at all bad, a tiny bit sub-John Le Carré, but not too much below, and it is the story, J-Law, the visuals and the locations that carry the movie. Entertaining enough it may be, but it doesn’t achieve the kind of quality or credibility you feel it is going for.

Matthews sold the film rights for a seven figure sum. Red Sparrow is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Palace of Treason and The Kremlin’s Candidate.

It is Francis Lawrence’s  fourth consecutive film with J-Law, following The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015).

American ballet dancer Isabella Boylston is J-Law’s dance double. But Lawrence practised a Russian accent for four months and spent three hours a day for four months working with the Hollywood ballet instructor Kurt Froman. Both the dancing and accent are a stretch for her.

Francis Lawrence sums up: ‘This is a thriller, it’s not action, again it’s not gadgetry. It’s a hard-R. There’s violence, it’s a bit perverse, it’s suspenseful, a lot of intrigue. It’s a different kind of spy film.’  But two tortures sequences seem about a couple too many, and the tiny bits of action, violence, sexual content, bad language and nudity feel gratuitous, certainly uncomfortable. It’s good that it’s a proper spy film, and good that it’s an entertainment for adults, but it needs pacing up, editing down and overall a smarter feel to it.

Those seeking Bond or Bourne-style action and gadgets will feel frustrated. But those after a Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-type experience will probably feel satisfied. As a comparison, it’s a wee bit better than the 2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and about as good as The Girl on the Train, Atomic Blonde and Ghost in the Shell.

It was shot from 5 January – 10 May 2017 in Budapest, Hungary; Bratislava, Slovakia; Vienna, Austria; and London, England.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Movie Review

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