Red Sparrow of the Kremlin

Jennifer Lawrence’s latest starrer is the Cold War-esque (because we all know that the Cold War is over, don’t we?) spy thriller ‘Red Sparrow,’ code-name for the pretty little agents provocateur trained in the fine art of seduction to compromise prospective assets.  In our current political climate of suspected Russian meddling in our democratic process and collusion at the highest level of government, ‘Red Sparrow’ is timely and resonates with some of us if nothing else.

 

In RS JLaw portrays Dominika, an accomplished dancer of the famed Bolshoi Ballet whose career is cut short by a tragic “accident.”  Needing to care for her cancer-stricken and bed-ridden mom, her vulnerability was exploited and she was unwittingly recruited by her uncle, who happens to be the deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor of the infamous KGB.  Unwillingly enrolled in the “Charm School” (or “Whore School” as she called it) for spies, she soon displayed a singular aptitude and talent for spycraft, not because she’d grown to enjoy it but because it’s simply a matter of kill-or-be-killed survival.  And as she’s proven in her breakthrough film, the depressing and somewhat difficult to watch ‘Winter’s Bone,’ not to mention the ‘Hunger Games’ quadrilogy, that one’s a true survivor.

 

Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews, ‘Red Sparrow’ is a good old fashioned Cold War espionage yarn in the tradition of ‘The Cardinal of the Kremlin’ and John le Carré novels.  Not having read the book, I admit I was expecting another fast-paced action-packed take-no-prisoners “La Femme Nikita” style killing spree of a movie similar to  Angelina Jolie’s ‘Salt’ or Charlize Theron’s ‘Atomic Blonde,’ but I was pleasantly surprised that it's more of a slowly unfolding character-driven story with only occasional scenes of extreme violence even as I foresaw the movie’s twist of a final act.

Grade: B