[yasr_overall_rating]
Ballerina Dominika Egorova is recruited to ‘Sparrow School,’ a Russian intelligence service where she is forced to use her body as a weapon. Her first mission, targeting a C.I.A. agent, threatens to unravel the security of both nations.
It is unlikely that “Red Sparrow” will turn out to be what viewers expect, which is to say, a good thing. Boasting various shades of all manner of spy movies (to name but a few: “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold,” “Notorious,” “Syriana,” “The Quiet American”), the film finds something fresh to say about the genre, particularly in light of the new brand of cold war in which we find ourselves. It’s sort of a “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” taken up a few notches and with a stronger sense of drama.
The many twists and turns occur most often at unexpected moments. It follows then, that a simple regurgitation of the plot would not only fail to do the film justice but would reveal too many spoilers. Suffice to say that “Red Sparrow” is a gritty tour through the modern cold war, whose journey is at least half the fun, though certainly not all happy times and “pass the soda crackers.” The plethora of clearly motivated individuals makes the growing tension both utterly believable and often uncomfortable in the same moment.
Jennifer Lawrence is superb and fearless in an extremely challenging role. She plays Dominika Egorova, a celebrated Russian ballerina – until an unfortunate accident. Her entire life trajectory changes as a result, and she is required to make a series of thought-provoking choices.
Perhaps most satisfying about Dominika is that she is scary-smart in a fascinating way – not, for example, like Edward Morra (Bradley Cooper) in “Limitless” or Will (Matt Damon) in “Good Will Hunting,” or even Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara/Noomi Rapace) in “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Dominika’s gift is her political acumen and the ability to read the most subtle nuances in other people.
At so many moments in the movie, when a potential cliché seems just around the corner, director Francis Lawrence throws us a curve. Lawrence (Francis) has worked with Lawrence (Jennifer) several times previously on the “Hunger Games” series. Adapted from “Book One of the Red Sparrow Trilogy” by Jason Matthews (a retired CIA officer in real life), the screenplay by Justin Haythe is most capably written.
Joel Edgerton plays CIA-man Nathaniel Nash, responsible for channeling information from a highly placed Russian mole when he encounters his own set of, at least partially self-inflicted, difficulties. Perhaps best known for the recent critically acclaimed “Loving” and as the writer/director/co-star of “The Gift” with Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall, Edgerton presents a suitable foil to Lawrence’s Dominika.
Always in the background of “Red Sparrow” are a set of wonderful time-honored actors. Charlotte Rampling is the Matron at the school for spies in which Lawrence attends. Rampling’s character suggests that she might have once been in Dominika’s shoes decades earlier – the student has now become the teacher.
Mary-Louise Parker is delightful as the vampy, conflicted chief of staff to a U.S. Senator. Ciarán Hinds and Jeremy Irons are solid as members of the Russian old guard trying to figure out how best to deploy their latest human asset. Joely Richardson as Dominka’s mother and Sakina Jaffrey as a CIA station chief also turn in fine performances.
“Red Sparrow” is a densely layered story filled with credible characters whose actions and intentions drive unremitting suspense. Certainly not for the squeamish, “Red Sparrow” takes its rightful place in the pantheon of great spy films of all time.
In theaters Friday, March 2nd
