Red Sparrow
Anchored by Jennifer Lawrence’s performance,Red Sparrowis a slow-burn spy/seductress thriller that’s shiny on the surface, yet lacking in depth.
adapt from the book by former CIA operative Jason Matthews , Red Sparrowis a modern espionage flick that reunify Oscar - winner Jennifer Lawrence with herThe Hunger Games : Catching FireandMockingjay - Part 1 & 2director Francis Lawrence . Matthew sold the movie right to his intriguing source material before it had even been published , with Jennifer Lawrence’smother!director Darren Aronofsky andGirl with the Dragon Tattooduo David Fincher and Rooney Mara among those who encircle the project during pre - production . While the calibre of endowment that express interest in adaptingRed Sparrowis a will to the narrative richness of Matthew ’s novel , the net film variant is more an exercising in style over substance . cast anchor by Jennifer Lawrence ’s performance , Red Sparrowis a slow - burn spy / seductress thriller that ’s shiny on the open , yet lacking in deepness .
Jennifer Lawrence stars inRed Sparrowas Dominika Egorova , a celebrated Russian danseuse whose calling is cut tragically short when she suffers a fearful injury during a performance . Facing an uncertain future tense and determined to continue providing maintenance for her sickly mother Nina ( Joely Richardson ) , Dominika is manipulate by her suspect uncle Ivan Dimitrevich Egorov ( Matthias Schoenaerts ) - the First Deputy Director of the SVR - into performing a dubious labor … one that take to a person being murdered , with Dominika the only witness to the Russian politics ’s private crime .
Realizing that she has no real choice in the subject , Dominika is then forced by her uncle into serve Sparrow School : a Russian intelligence computer programme that educate unseasoned multitude to use their minds and eubstance as weapons of conquest . When it wrick out that Dominika has a gift for this dangerous line of body of work , she is recruit by the government to bear out a top precedency missionary post : to make liaison with and make a CIA operative named Nathaniel Nash ( Joel Edgerton ) , so as to pull strings him into break the identity of his source within the Russian privy service . However , in this line of workplace , everyone has secrets and Dominika comes to agnize that she must always rest one step ahead , if she wants to make it out of this operation alive .
Like Matthew ’s original novel , Red Sparrowcombines a relatively naturalistic portrayal of modern intelligence office procedures and techniques ( inform by Matthew ’s real living experience working for the CIA ) with a pulpier spy / femme fatale narrative full of dramatic twist and enigmatic type who may or may not have ulterior agenda . Francis Lawrence and screenwriter Justin Haythe ( Revolutionary Road , A Cure for Wellness ) similarly carryover theRed Sparrowbook ’s shift in point of sight to the braggart screen , frequently cutting back and forth between scenes with Dominika and conversations among top - ranking members of either the CIA or SVR . The photographic film by and large succeeds in make tension and suspense through this filmmaking attack , in particular when it come to juxtapose Dominika ’s plot line with the plot thread involving Nathaniel and his own undercover agent game .
WhileRed Sparrowfurther pull off to streamline Matthew ’s slow source material into more of a cinematic three - routine tale , it terminate up sacrificing much of its substance in the process . The film only skim the surface when it comes to exploring the political implications of its story ( specifically , the state of relations between the former Soviet Union and the U.S. ) , as well as the interrogation that it raises about how sexual attraction and gender influence the mogul dynamics between people of different social ranking . Red Sparrowdelves fair deeply into the superpower battle between Dominkia and her uncle Ivan , but her relationships with the flick ’s other players - like Nathaniel , her mother , and especially the Sparrow School Matron ( Charlotte Rampling ) - come off find half - baked in the end and bomb to leave much of an aroused impingement .
Jennifer Lawrence , for her part , give up another fine public presentation as the " Red Sparrow " herself , making it easy to consent how the quality apply her determination and discipline as a dancer to becoming an effective secret agent and seductress , instead . Red Sparrowis really the former Katniss Everdeen ’s show more than anyone else ’s , though the rest of the supporting cast do a good business with the thin textile they are handed . Further lending the film an atmosphere of prestige are actors like Oscar - achiever Jeremy Irons and character actor Ciarán Hinds ( who , yes , are technicallyJustice Leaguecostars ) , as do Richardson , Rampling , and Mary - Louise Parker in their own supporting roles . As classy as that ensemble read on paper though , only Schoenaerts gets a meaty role to hollow into as Dominika ’s sinister congeneric .
Its defect in report and character development aside though , Red Sparrowis a freehanded pic purely from an aesthetic linear perspective . Reuniting with hisHunger Gamescinematographer Jo Willems , Francis Lawrence draws from a cold-blooded yet striking colour pallette to convey the plastic film ’s world of spies , covert operatives , and assassins to life , creating a lavishly ascetic sense of atmosphere in the mental process . Trish Summerville ’s equally parky , yet lovely costume are sometimes a bittooreminiscent of the outfits that she design forCatching Fire ’s dystopian setting , butTinker Tailor Soldier Spyproduction clothes designer Maria Djurkovic aptly captures the feel of a Cold War thriller throwback with her contributions here . keep that in head : Red Sparrowdoes await and experience a bit like " David Fincher - lite " overall , leaving one to wonder what Fincher and Mara would have made of the project , had they sign on rather of the Lawrences ( all the more so when you debate the thematic similarities betweenRed Sparrowand Fincher’sGirl with the Dragon Tattooespecially ) .
Fox in the beginning hadRed Sparrowscheduled to open in theaters last November , but the moving picture ’s delay was a sassy move . The film is a perfectly solid dramatic thriller for adult , but would n’t have been an prize time of year contender and might have gotten lose in the shuffling , had it been forced to compete alongside the stronger writing style movies that come out last nightfall . Red Sparrowisn’t one of Jennifer Lawrence ’s best starring vehicle , but it ’s a good rebound for the Oscar - winner after her photographic film likesJoy , Passengers , and even the divisivemother!failed to leave much of an impression on the pop acculturation zeitgeist . The movie is n’t a must - see in theaters , but those who are fascinate by the film ’s premise and/or have enjoyed Francis Lawrence ’s previous non - Hunger Gamesgenre features ( a laConstantine , I Am Legend ) may want to give " Jennifer Lawrence’sBlack Widowmovie " a shot .
TRAILER
Red Sparrowis now playing in U.S. theater nationwide . It is 139 min prospicient and is rated R for solid vehemence , torture , sexual content , language and some pictorial nudity .
Based on the novel by Jason Matthews , Red Sparrow star Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika Egorova , a former ballerina turn Russian intelligence agency officer who becomes involved in a game to root out CIA agents operate in Russia . Assigned to get close to agent Nate Nash , Dominika begins to question her commitment to her state when Nash pop the question her the opportunity to become a double factor . Joel Edgerton , Mary - Louise Parker , and Jeremy Irons also star .
Based on the novel by Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow stars Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika Egorova, a former ballerina turned Russian intelligence officer who becomes involved in a plot to root out CIA agents operating in Russia. Assigned to get closer to agent Nate Nash, Dominika begins to question her commitment to her country when Nash offers her the opportunity to become a double agent. Joel Edgerton, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeremy Irons also star.
