Review of Red Sparrow (2018) by Allen W — 04 Mar 2018

By Pedro Sabino.

As an actor and film enthusiast, I don't go see a film and sit there observing every detail hunting for errors because that would ruin it for me. I go looking for an entertaining film experience. If there are noticeable errors, I will see them. A different scenario plays out, though, when I go to film screenings to vote for the SAG Awards.

I went to see Red Sparrow with the correct expectations and I must say that this psychological thriller really delivered on its promise. I did not go expecting a James Bond film.

Jennifer Lawrence shows once again her versatility as an actor, plunging into the character in a way that I could not see the actress anymore, but her character, Dominika Egorova. This is especially difficult when you have met and worked with the actor.

As the film progresses, you see different traits of Dominika manifested in different scenes. Jennifer Lawrence counterpart, Joel Edgerton, playing Nate Nash, delivers a solid performance as well.

If you have not seen the film, I am warning you; brace yourself. There are moments that you might jump out of your seat if you don't.

Though Jennifer Lawrence possesses extraordinary histrionic capabilities, I did not expect her to learn classical ballet dancing and the Russian accent in three months. Though she plays down her dancing skills and her Russian accent, from the perspective of a non-dancing expert, the dancing scenes were performed convincingly. Her accent, on the other hand, reminded me that of a Russian girl I used to play beach volleyball with.

Dominika is a strong woman who was given no choice but to fight to survive and she became an expert in that field. The film is sexually graphic and you should expect a fair deal of violence, but I liked the choices Dominika makes when she is confronted with certain unavoidable realities concerning her body. I read some time ago a similar case, which resulted in favor of the victim when she took the same approach, taking her power back. I will not give you more details so I don't spoil it for you, in case you have not seen the film yet.

In terms of the directing, renowned Director Francis Lawrence preferred actions rather than extensive dialogues, using it sparingly in many scenes. This approach offers actors the opportunity to excel in their performance because acting is more about actions than words.

Another element I enjoyed was the score, which elevated the level of the film. For my taste, you should not notice the score until the moment when its presence is actually needed to elevate the tension or excitement and that is the case in Red Sparrow.

I want to add a note, which pertains not only to Red Sparrow but to all films dealing with sexual or physical violence exerted against women. I strongly believe that the Industry should find alternate ways to tell the story without depicting those elements so graphically, which may contribute to perpetuating the despicable culture of abuse and violence against women.

If you have not seen the film yet, I hope you may have a great film experience as I did.