Review of Red Sparrow (2018) by Russell R — 24 Dec 2018

This is the latest team up from Jennifer Lawrence and Francis Lawrence based on a book written by Jason Matthews. Red Sparrow focuses on a ballerina played by Jennifer Lawrence who becomes a Russian spy. She is taught the art of seduction as a way to glean information from the enemy. Joel Edgerton plays the American CIA agent on the trail of these Russian spies.

This is a throwback to the Cold War spy dramas dominating theaters in the sixties. Those films were able to encapsulate a snapshot in time before all the technology existed and detective work was much more challenging. Compelling performances in these cat and mouse games dominated the era with sometimes the villain getting away in a surprise twist. Soon, everyone was making these spy dramas with a lot of the same beats and the twists were not as shocking.

This is one of the problems with Red Sparrow is that it appears as a love letter to this era. Many great films were created but Red Sparrow seems content to pay homage rather than strike out with its own story. I say this because I love spy dramas but have largely seen the same story unravel before. The inevitable areas where you expect a twist show a twist. Really, this means there is not really a twist when you can identify the moment the story is trying to course correct itself. At least, it could be forgiven the story is unimaginative if the acting was stellar.

Jennifer Lawrence is unsuitable for this role coming off as stiff and unable to show the warmth necessary to seduce someone. Her facial expressions are one note and her accent recalls the days of Boris and Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle series. She is more suited for comedic roles drawing on her natural comic timing and not something where she is expected to explore more depth. I used to appreciate her acting but she has turned me off with each new role as she is largely doing the same thing again with hysterical expressions.

I enjoy Joel Edgerton but he is not given much to do with the script. He plays a standard agent and he gives it his all to bring nuance to the performance. Here, he is more of a romantic interest for Jennifer Lawrence's character and treated as secondary. I believe Joel could have brought more to the film had his character been developed more but this serves as mostly a Jennifer Lawrence vehicle.

The atmosphere is enticing bringing me back to my love of older spy dramas. The setting actually feels lived in and something you would see in Russia. The actual filming of the movie is cool with scenes having the aesthetic feel of a Cold War spy drama.

Unfortunately, the movie gets too focused on recreating these superior films instead of leading with a compelling story or giving the actors more to work with. Largely, it is difficult to distinguish this as a separate film so you are drawn to make those comparisons. The pace suffers given the focus is more on seduction as a tool. More thrills and more nuanced performance from Jennifer Lawrence could have elevated this pretty standard movie. The decision to force a romance between the two leads also serves to be detrimental to the story and makes the film duller than it could otherwise have been.