Red Sparrow - Liked It - DoubleFeaturePreachers

Red Sparrow - Liked It

2/27/2018

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts
Director: Francis Lawrence
Runtime: 2 hours, 19 minutes
Based upon the novel by Jason Matthews
Suspense | Thriller | Novel

The book that this film is based on was sitting on my table for three weeks unopened, and it stayed that way before I had to return it back to the library. I’m trying to get back into reading, and I have for the most part, just a little too late for Red Sparrow. The story is about Dominika Egorova, a talented and famed ballerina who’s career comes to a shocking hault. To keep her mother from losing medical assistance (I’m assuming she had MS by the acting on this one) he lets her uncle enroll her in Sparrow School where should would become a spy.

Now, I was really excited to see this film. I love Jennifer Lawrence (not at first) and I think she is really good at what she does. Red Sparrow surprised me immensely. It was full of nudity, sexual tension, extremely graphic scenes, etc. This movie was about Dominika being trained to be a whore and get information from the enemy during Cold War (or post Cold War perhaps) Russia.

I really enjoyed the beginning scene, with all the classical music and her dancing powerfully on stage. Was taken aback by what happened next, but it really fueled the rest of the film and developed her character with just a single moment.

Joel Edgerton plays Nate Nash, an American CIA operative in Budapest who is Dominika’s mark for her mission. The two have somewhat of a good chemistry on screen, nothing compared to her and Bradley Cooper, but I think Lawrence’s acting was able to keep the romance/friendship going as the story progressed.

The story itself is well thought out and I really enjoyed it. Spy thrillers to me are typically good when the story all comes together in an epic plan that the main character is going for, but not revealing. Red Sparrow delivers on the twist ending and the overall integrity of it’s characters.
I for one really enjoyed watching this movie, aside from the cringe worthy and graphic scenes that pop up during the 2 hour and 19 minutes run time. I didn’t feel like I was watching that long of a movie, so that’s a good thing right?

After starting this blog with David, I’ve grown more recognition when it comes to directors. I’m not 100% there yet, but I’m starting to recognized the features in particular directors movies, and this one is no exception. It has all the makings of a Hunger Games movie, including Jennifer Lawrence, when it comes to the way the film is being portrayed.

Overall, I liked this movie. It was entertaining and kept me guessing one minute to the next as to which side Dominika was actually on: The Russians or The Americans. Truthfully, I don’t think either, but the relationships she has on screen with the other characters and the overall story were great. I would watch it again and recommend this film when it’s released this weekend. I will stress though that it is a very graphic and sometimes disturbing movie. I’ll give it a “Liked It.” (4/5).