You'll be hard-pressed to find a darker, more grounded espionage thriller than
Red Sparrow. Where most spy films play up the glamour of the lifestyle,
Red Sparrow chooses to explore all of the heinous, immoral ways governments exploit their operatives for political gain. This tale of a former ballerina (Jennifer Lawrence in her most magnetic performance since
Joy) that's blackmailed into joining an elite team of Russian spies known as "Sparrows" that are trained to use their sexuality to extract information from enemies of the states pulls no punches in terms of disturbing content. The Sparrow program is built around fear and humiliation, and the filmmakers aren't afraid to show the full extent of the horrors these recruits endure in the name of their country. While it was unsettling to watch human beings get physically, emotionally and psychologically abused for relatively long periods of time, displaying these atrocities is essential to establishing the grim environment that influences the decisions Lawrence's character makes as the story progresses.
Red Sparrow stumbles a bit in its final act thanks to some overly convenient plot twists, but screenwriter Justin Haythe and director Francis Lawrence deserve kudos for making a captivating character-driven spy flick that emphasizes just how ugly the world of international espionage is.
Grade: B
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