Jennifer Lawrence Takes On A Gritty Role In 'Red Sparrow'
- Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Irons
- Rated R
- Drama, thriller
- Run time: 2 hr, 20 min
- Directed by Francis Lawrence
- In theaters March 2, 2018
She may be a long ways from the Hunger Games, but Jennifer Lawrence's most recent character is still trying her hardest to avoid being killed. Based on the first novel in a series by Jason Matthews, this film tells the story of ballerina Dominika Egorova who, thanks to some pretty terrifying sabotage, finds herself between a rock and a hard place. She then falls into an insane world of espionage, seduction, government and torture, running into a CIA agent (Edgerton) who throws a wrench into her plans and her loyalty.
The story is nothing short of thrilling, tossing together sex, drama and danger. Lawrence sells her character well even if her accent (and the wig) falls short occasionally. The chemistry is intense between the leads and it's a beautiful film to watch, even if there are quite a few graphic moments, be it of nudity or violence. But what kind of Russian spy thriller would it be if there wasn't? There's no question that many would have preferred this kind of movie to be telling the backstory of Marvel's Black Widow, but for now, the Red Sparrow will have to do.
Fans of the book series could find this film polarizing, as there are quite a few significant changes to the main plot line and some of the characters. While this does create a different story in many places, the essence of the novel, and Lawrence's character, are fairly intact. The message still comes across the same, even if a lot of the (fairly dense) novel got probably intentionally lost in translation. Dominika is just as conflicted as you'd expect someone in her position to be, and everything seems to be in a different shade of grey. In the world of espionage, nothing ever really is as it seems.
One truly fantastic thing about the book differing from the final product on screen is that the readers can be just as surprised about some of the plot elements as those coming in blind. There are quite a few gasp-inducing moments, which is to be expected from a thriller in a post-Gone Girl world. While not much can cause this to stand out among many other well-done films within the genre, it stands strong in the middle of the pack.