Jennifer Lawrence tries her best to make ‘Red Sparrow’ a sexy spy thriller. Instead the film contains scene after scene of gratuitous violence and sexual exploitation that never serves to move the plot forward. Lawrence is tied to a chair while repeatedly being beaten and tortured. It’s excruciating to watch. If you want to see a stylish spy thriller, last year’s ‘Atomic Blonde’ starring Charlize Theron was the epitome of female empowerment and pulp fun. Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer) directed the last three ‘Hunger Game’ films but he misses the mark on so many levels with ‘Red Sparrow.’ Russia is stereotyped as a corrupt wasteland filled with perverted men using women as sexual objects. We get it, they’re the bad guys. You will feel just as tortured as Lawrence sitting through the lackluster ‘Red Sparrow.’
Dominika (Lawrence) is a Bolshoi prima ballerina who changes careers after a devastating injury. Faced with losing her government funded apartment in Moscow as well as the healthcare for her ailing mother, she agrees to work for her Uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts) and the Russian government. Her first assignment is to seduce and steal the cellphone from a goon. Before somebody comes through the window to strangle him, he ends up raping Dominika. It’s the start of the humiliation that Lawrence’s character is subjected to throughout the film. As a matter of fact, it feels like the main purpose of ‘Red Sparrow’ is to market Lawrence’s naked body. She gets recruited to a KGB school that she nicknames, “Whore School.” That’s precisely what the school trains the young men and women to do. Their job is to learn how to seduce the enemy and get their secrets.
The school is led by an elderly woman (Charlotte Rampling) who forces the students to have sex in front of the class. I’m not kidding! She orders Dominika to have sex with another student who she beat up the night before when he tried to rape her in the shower. We see Lawrence in front of the class spread-eagled without a stitch of clothing on. Rather than it being seductive, the scene is painfully creepy to watch. The thought begins to run through your mind why Lawrence decided to take on this project in the first place when she can star in any movie she wants. Eventually Dominika becomes a “Sparrow” and is sent out in the field. Her assignment is to go to Budapest and find a Russian mole that is giving intelligence information to American CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton). She meets up with him at a community swimming pool and before you know it they are having sex. The chemistry between Lawrence and Edgerton is colder than a winter in Moscow.
Let’s talk about the Russian accents. They are bad and will remind you of the “Rocky and Bullwinkle” cartoon. The plot is so muddled that you will lose track of who gets double-crossed and eventually you won’t care. The tone throughout the film is grim. Lawrence is one of the most gifted actresses of her generation but this film showcases none of her talents. ‘Red Sparrow’ seems like a tedious exercise in proving that she is an adult actress taking on serious roles. Instead, it backfires as she is put through the wringer scene after degrading scene. It’s supposed to be a journey about female empowerment but the rape and torture scenes become gratuitous.
Lawrence is exceptional in films like ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and ‘Joy’ but unfortunately is miscast as a femme fatale. Hopefully director David O. Russell and Lawrence collaborate on another film project soon. He seems to cast her in girl next door roles she is better suited for. Avoid ‘Red Sparrow’ like the Cold War.
