Ava (2020)

Directed by: Tate Taylor | 97 minutes | action, crime, drama | Actors: Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Common, Geena Davis, Jess Weixler, Colin Farrell, Joan Chen, Ioan Gruffudd, Diana Silvers, Efka Kvaraciejus, Christopher J. Domig, Michel Muller, Dieter Riesle, Aramis Merlin, Michael Guarnera

The hitman with issues, talk about action movie clichés! In ‘Ava’ the filmmakers take a slightly different approach. The personal vicissitudes are given much more attention here than in the average contemporaneous genre. Understandable choice by screenwriter Matthew Newton, because isn’t the criticism of action films often that the characters remain so flat? The female secret agent is nothing new; and ‘Ava’ therefore joins the steadily growing list that also includes ‘Nikita’, ‘Atomic Blonde’, ‘Red Sparrow’ and ‘Anna’.

Ava (Jessica Chastain) is an assassin employed by the Secret Service. She is the protégé of Duke (John Malkovich), who is again under Simon (Colin Farrell). It soon becomes clear that Ava wants to account for her murders; her mo is to ask her victim what could be the reason someone put a price on his head. That curiosity almost kills her; the leadership of her organization has a clear protocol, which Ava is only too happy to deviate from. When she is temporarily put on hold as a result, the woman has no choice but to return to her family in Boston. Her embittered mother (Geena Davis) and sister Judy (Jess Weixler) are not immediately eager for her return. It’s hard to forgive that Ava left with the northern sun eight years ago without saying anything. So does her ex-boyfriend Michael (Common), who is now together with Judy.

Even if you ended the relationship yourself, seeing your ex with your sister shouldn’t be easy for anyone. Not to mention Ava, who still has plenty of reasons to worry. The strained relationship with her mother, the mistrust of her employer and her mentor Duke, who acts more or less as a father, and the increasing desire for alcohol (she has successfully kicked the habit due to her work); there are plenty of things to keep you awake at night. Then Michael also appears to have the same problems as the one that got them to know each other back then. His skyrocketing debt to top local criminal Toni (Joan Chen) means that Ava has to deal with this too.

Tate Taylor signed on to direct ‘Ava’. Previously he made ‘The Help’ (2011), ‘Get on Up’ (2014), ‘The Girl on the Train’ (2016) and ‘Ma’ (2019). Just because you can direct good dramas or thrillers doesn’t mean you’re a good action movie director. That requires a completely different approach. The action scenes in ‘Ava’ are unclear and messy and without the dramatic scenes, this is a dime-a-dozen B-movie. Taylor is a good actor director, because the cast is nice to watch. Jessica Chastain is convincing in her calculating ‘business’ communication, but ‘Ava’ also lets her show her emotions often enough. Geena Davis, Jess Weixler and John Malkovich are also fully committed. The mother-daughter scene in which both women literally and figuratively lay their cards on the table is especially beautiful.

Yet it is a precarious balance. It is certainly commendable that ‘Ava’ wants to be more than your average action film, but for action film fans the action is too sparse and too predictable, so that they will probably drop out. Are you in for the combination drama/action, then you will probably be disturbed by the annoying action scenes. ‘Ava’ still scores a pass because of the cast, who do their best to make this film a better film.