Red Sparrow

This brutal Russian spy thriller is littered with strokes of genius and explosive violence placed at crucial moments but is dragged down by its inconsistent directing by Francis Lawrence. The inconsistency is predominantly seen within the latter stages of the opening act, and most of the middle act of the film, where choppy scene changes, repetitive dialogue, and a broken rhythm run wild, undermining the beautiful and skillfully used symmetry found in the cinematography. Whilst inconsistency is never desirable, in order to be inconsistent there must be the existence of quality. Quality is given from the very start with an intensely engaging opening that bares both stylistic and contextual flare, with parallels drawn between both protagonists and their environments. The underbelly of the Russian crime world is showcased through the perspectives of a Russian native, Dominika Egorova, and an American intelligence officer, Nate Nash, already bringing contrast and opposition into the film early on to foreshadow the bloody conflict to come. The opening pre-title scenes are rich in sensory detail that creates an instantly intimate atmosphere that allows the tension to grow organically and effectively, this was naturally the highlight of the film and provided a powerful stepping stone for the plot to become something truly special.

Following this pocket of gold the plot begins to fade in strength and develop along a very linear road with basic dialogue and although the acting from Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton was decent enough the mundane dialogue restricted the ability of the film to harbour stand-out performances, at least for the first few acts. Dominika Ergorova, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is a well-written character with blended layers of vulnerability and clinical control but is tainted by their progression into the role of a red sparrow. Conceptually a military-run school for seductive agents is bleak and morally regressive however this concept feels poorly translated onto the screen due to a lack of screen time and the reliance on graphic outbursts of sexual violence in order to ‘rock the boat’ and ‘shake up’ the script into something more bold and entertaining. Perhaps what is most detrimental is the pacing implemented during the series of scenes that are crucial to the protagonist’s character development. By rushing through arguably the most haunting setting and aspect of the film the plot loses its grip, and the shock value of these horrific events drastically falls. Unfortunately, due to the bland dialogue shock value becomes a key component to this film. Repetition is also a critical issue within the script, there is a notable presence of filler scenes and then once original and brilliant scenes become recycled, and again damages the bold nature of the script. Looking closely at the film as a whole, Dominika’s most significant turning point in terms of character development lies within the first mission given to her by her uncle Vanya Erogov. This scene was another promising sequence that bared a resemblance to the grotesque inhalation scene from Blue Velvet. The scene was also successful in laying out the beginnings of a hate-infused dynamic between Dominika and her uncle, which serves as another saving grace for this film and unlike previous scenes allows some cold-cutting dialogue that constructs a power struggle and adds depth to both characters.

Some of the most passionate themes found in film and literature include love, lust, and hate, yet despite the plot being fuelled by these very emotions, the delivery is infrequent and sub-par. There also seems to be a lack of commitment to the supposed second protagonist, Nate Nash, where the majority of scenes towards the beginning of the film consist of boardrooms and meetings, providing nothing interesting in terms of backstory for the CIA agent. As mentioned before, this film has potential with many golden moments of great cinema, the cause of the pacing issues and messy direction fundamentally originates from the scattered complexity of the plot and the routes taken. The film attempts to produce a dystopian thriller with intelligence and style, instead, it incorporates either one separately until the midpoint of the plot where both converge in unison to give the audience the film promised from the start. Once coherent, the film excels, the dialogue and dynamics between characters benefit and so too does the rhythm and flow which helps create a smoother viewing experience and a stable narrative. In terms of the ending, it was well executed with intelligent although standard-style plot twists. The sense of justice and relief provided by the conclusion would’ve been made more impactful by better direction of the whole film. Conclusively this film is underrated yet the director and possibly writers should take ownership for the lack of coherency within the script. Had the pacing been better and the runtime shorter as well as better dialogue this film could’ve left a big mark in modern cinema.