Is this what it feels like when you come thisclose to being the most culturally relevant film ever … and fail miserably? You got Russia. You got spies. You got misogyny. You got a strong won’t-be-controlled heroine … and yet none of it seems relevant at all to the issues of the day. It’s like setting a dumpster on fire and having the ashes neatly form the letters “T-R-U-P-M.” So, so close, but clearly incorrect.
Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is star of the Bolshoi Ballet. And she better be, cuz otherwise no housing, no food, and no healthcare for her invalid mother. It’s all fun and glasnost until that oaf Boris lands directly on your tibia, thus paving the way to partner with his own Natasha.
The next part is key, because while we realize the extent to which Dominika has been, is being, and will be used over these critical years of her life, this is her reaction upon realizing the tibia conspiracy: she takes a cane upside both Boris and Natasha, leaving them for squirrel meat. I should mention at this time that Red Sparrow is about as graphic and unsettling as non-horror gets. There’s blood; there’s rape; there’s torture; there’s advanced pimping. The ballerina who pirouettes the blues away is in some other film. Dominika has no problem with blood.
So after that Bolshoit, Dominika gets pimped out by her uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts), a high ranking party member and general scumbag. Oh, it’s worse than that – if you consider the source of the ballet tip, it’s possible uncle V. had planned to pimp her out for ages. And then it gets even worse when the intercourse is interrupted by an assassination, also planned by good ol’ Uncle. Oh, Uncle Vanya, why can’t you just be tiresome, like the Chekhov play? You won’t believe it gets worse after this, so I won’t say that part. With no recourse and her life on the line (being a material witness and all), Dominika has no choice but to enter the Sparrow program, a whore school for aspiring young agents.
I have to comment here – because I objected just like the rest of you – after the hotel pimping, Jennifer Lawrence is done with vulnerability. It’s not that she is without
danger; it’s more like this is the last time in the film in which she is completely without options. This is pretty important, because you can choose to view the Sparrow program as pimping for mother Russia or you can view it as Dominika’s means of taking control of her life, however awful the circumstances; this ain’t no safety whore school. There’s nothing safe about the Sparrow program, especially her classmates.
Red Sparrow isn’t everybody’s cup of borscht; it’s graphic, ugly, and indulgent. There’s no antiseptic, half-assed James Bond feel here to Russian spying. This film spares no pain. And there’s an intriguing “Who’s Zooming Whom?” plot at the heart of the picture. No, this film isn’t terribly relevant to modern spy games in the news, nor would I consider it a banner carrier for the women’s movement, but I found it more than entertaining as a plot puzzle and a character study.
An agent’s life that’s void of love
With constant pressure from above
The ultraviolent bird
A Sparrow? How absurd
We know she’s From Russia, no dove
Rated R, 139 Minutes
Director: Francis Lawrence (No relation. Oh yeah, like we’re buying that)
Writer: Justin Haythe
Genre: Spy games
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Cold War nostalgists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The squeamish
