Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The opinions are completely the author’s based on his own experience and review of the product.
Red Sparrow is an espionage thriller that does away with the tradition of making the spy business inhabited by suave and debonair characters. Because it strays away from the norm, the film succeeds on its own merits. With a runtime of 140 minutes, it would be easy for Red Sparrow to become bogged down by its approach but director Frances Lawrence manages to make this a slow burn thriller that commands your attention, even if it demands that the film take a break from the traditional action of the genre.
Red Sparrow’s electric prologue cross-cuts between two seemingly disparate storylines that won’t intersect until nearly an hour into the proceedings. Prima ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is performing in front of a packed house for the Bolshoi Ballet when the unthinkable happens – an ugly accident that dashes her dancing dreams. Meanwhile, in Gorky Park, CIA operative Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) is meeting with his informant when the police arrive. A chase ensues and, although Nate escapes capture by getting across the barrier at the entrance to the U.S. Embassy, the agency censures him and suspends him from field operations.
With her dancing career behind her, Dominika must find a new way to earn the money necessary to pay for her mother’s medical care. Enter not-so-kindly Uncle Vanya (Matthais Schoenaerts), a high-ranking Russian intelligence officer who offers to shepherd her through what amounts to a “spy school” run by the nameless Matron (Charlotte Rampling). Although initially reluctant to go “all the way”, Dominika eventually immerses herself in the training and catches the attention of her uncle’s boss, Director Zakharov (Ciaran Hinds), and the taciturn General Korchnoi (Jeremy Irons). They give her an assignment: seduce Nate – who is now back in the field – by any means necessary and learn the identity of his source. Of course, Nate knows immediately that she’s playing him and tries to turn the tables by offering her the opportunity to become a double agent which results in some highly entertaining triple-crossing.
The most interesting aspect of Red Sparrow is the game of seduction and counter-seduction that goes on between Dominika and Nate. Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton share a palpable chemistry for the relationship to work and Lawrence’s performance, which varies between inscrutable, tough, and vulnerable, keeps us uncertain how sincere Dominika is at any moment. Their interplay pops more than any moment of action in the film and you become instantly connected whenever they’re on screen.
A lot of the success of Red Sparrow rides on Jennifer Lawrence and her unflinching commitment to the role. Frances Lawrence directed her in three of her four Hunger Games outings (the only one he didn’t direct was the first film) and it’s clear that she is comfortable going to hard places for a director she completely trusts. At one point Lawrence literally bares all and is depicted being brutally tortured in a sequence that tests the boundaries of the film’s R-rating. During this sequence, the camera is relentless in its focus on her as she endures the torture and despite circumstances that could make the character a victim, this is just one example Lawrence portraying Dominika as someone with the inner strength and fortitude to overcome and bend circumstances to her liking. I’m not suggesting this is her best performance but it shows a sense of nuance that would normally be lacking in a film like this. It would be easy to make the film a traditional action-thriller but the movie is much more ambitious.
One hurdle Red Sparrow is unable to overcome is the running length. In order to keep things moving, Francis is forced to gloss over exposition that might have been clearer if given more time. The “spy school” sequences are fascinating but that part of the film is over too quickly. And the give-and-take interaction between Nate and Dominika, as the two vie to get the upper hand while developing genuine feelings for one another could have been extended because it’s really that good. There’s enough in the movie to provide suitable entertainment but even though the film runs long, you feel like more time could’ve been placed in various aspects of the movie to make it a more complete experience.
Red Sparrow is an unflinchingly violent thriller that is visceral and unrelenting without dabbling too much into style over substance. Despite its A-list star and promotional material that made the film look a bit mainstream upon its release earlier this year, there is a different approach at play here that may surprise those who watch it. If you missed its run in the cinema, this is definitely a Blu-ray title that would be right at home in your collection.
Movie:
Blu-ray Video:
Red Sparrow is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Shot with a variety of Arri products and finished at a 4K DI (all according to the IMDb), Red Sparrow is consistently sharp and well detailed throughout its high definition presentation, despite typical “thriller” grading that casts a lot of sequences in cool blues and grays, as well as several interior scenes that are bathed in more of a dirty yellowish tint. The film benefits from some nice European location work, and detail on some of the historical architecture that crops up at least in backgrounds is often quite impressive. Director Francis Lawrence and cinematographer Jo Willems favor close-ups for Jennifer Lawrence in particular, and detail in these shots are typically excellent. The palette is somewhat subdued at times, but there are pops of vivid hues in “little” elements like the bright red lipstick Dominika wears at one point. The film is stylish in its own right and video quality of the disc really captures that.
Blu-ray Audio:
Red Sparrow‘s DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix provides consistent surround activity, even if some of it isn’t as boisterous as in the opening scenes where some of the orchestral underpinnings of the ballet sequences provide a really nice bed of surround immersion. Urban environments tend to provide good ambient crowd noises, but even some of the interior scenes have good placement of individual effects, including nicely directional dialogue. Dynamic range is wide but this isn’t really a loud or boisterous film so the moments for that range to be displayed are few but they count. This isn’t a sample disc for audio aficionados by any means but it’s serviceable.
Blu-ray Extras:
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- A New Cold War: Origination and Adaptation (1080p; 12:42) is a pretty standard EPK that has some decent behind the scenes footage and brief interviews that are interspersed with scenes from the film.
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- Agents Provocateurs: The Ensemble Cast (1080p; 15:21) follows the EPK template again, but does feature Lawrence and several others in brief snippets discussing the characters.
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- Tradecraft: Visual Authenticity (1080p; 13:28) Of the behind the scenes features, this is one of the more interesting supplements offered on this disc, focusing on locations and production design.
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- Heart of the Tempest: Locations (1080p; 10:56) This is another one of the better supplements on the disc, with production designer Maria Djurkovic offering some insight into how she and Francis Lawrence went about designing things and aiming for consistency despite a wide variety of locations.
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- Welcome to Sparrow School: Ballets and Stunts (1080p; 12:12) has some interesting footage of Jennifer Lawrence learning her dance moves and information on how they merged real ballerina Isabella Boylston’s dancing with Jennifer’s for the final film.
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- A Puzzle of Need: Post-Production (1080p; 14:08) gets into aspects like editing and scoring.
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- Director Commentary by Francis Lawrence (I actually listened to this right after watching the film once and Lawrence gives great insight into his process. I’m a sucker for a good audio commentary and this one is worth a listen. It’s also the best supplement on the disc.
- Deleted Scenes (1080p; 12:20) feature Optional Commentary from Director Francis Lawrence. I honestly wouldn’t mind if some of these made the cut since they add some nuance to a few scenes. I think with a runtime of 140 minutes they likely felt a lot had to be cut but I would’ve liked to see some of these in the finished product.
