Red Sparrow (2018)

Directed by: Francis Lawrence | 140 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, Ciarán Hinds, Joely Richardson, Bill Camp, Jeremy Irons, Thekla Reuten, Douglas Hodge, Sakina Jaffrey, Sergei Polunin, Sasha Frolova, Sebastian Hülk, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Nicole O’Neill, Kristof Konrad

For ‘Red Sparrow’, director Lawrence (Francis) and lead actress Lawrence (Jennifer) reunite, following their collaboration for two of ‘The Hunger Games’ films: ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay part 1’. From mockingjay to (red) sparrow.

But does all that fluttering make for a decent spy thriller? Yes and no. We are a bit distracted by the dubious accents of the mainly English cast. In addition to J. Law in the role of Dominika Egorova, we see Jeremy Irons (General Korchnoi), Charlotte Rampling (head of the State School), Ciarán Hinds (Zakharov) and Joely Richardson (Nina Egorova). Belgium and the Netherlands join in the game in the form of Matthias Schoenaerts (scary uncle Vanya Egorova) and Thekla Reuten (fellow Sparrow Marta). The international character is enhanced by the participation of Australian Joel Edgerton (as CIA agent Nate Nash). Lawrence herself, in particular, seems to have the most trouble keeping her accent on track. She also plays a strong role in this old-fashioned spy thriller, because we see double play (who can be trusted?), betrayal and plot twists.

Dominika, a promising ballet dancer with the famous Bolshoj ensemble, breaks a leg and that means the end of her ballet career. How is she going to make ends meet and pay the doctor’s bills for her ailing mother Nina? Her manipulative uncle Vanya is more than happy to help. He recruits her to serve as a ‘Red Sparrow’ (spy at the SVR, the Russian counterpart of the CIA).

During the tough training, Dominika learns to arm herself within the system, which mainly consists of men. The Sparrows are taught to extract secrets through seduction. For that she has to ‘let go’ of her body and mind. Total surrender to reach the higher goal.

She is soon deployed on a mission to unmask a mole inside the SVR. To do this, she must gain the trust of CIA agent Nate Nash. As the story progresses, we see Lawrence subtly playing with her complex role within all the surrounding hectic. What’s her plan? Does she manage to survive and even survive despite the betrayal, the lies and the surrounding testosterone violence?

That’s the plus of ‘Red Sparrow’, after the book by former CIA agent Jason Matthews. We see a female spy who has to pull out all the stops so as not to be easily victimized, like many before her. Who has to undergo many humiliations (the film contains a few violent, graphic scenes) in order to eventually come out of the fight as the strongest. To stay in ‘bird terms’: Dominika begins this adventure as a dead bird, but ends as a phoenix rising from its ashes.