Jennifer Lawrence captivates viewers in “Red Sparrow”

By Garrett Allen

Staff Writer

The timely release of “Red Sparrow” captivates audiences with a fervent performance from Jennifer Lawrence.

Adapted from the book “Red Sparrow”, the story follows Russian ballerina Dominika Egorova, played by Lawrence. After Egorova broke her leg in a freak accident, she is forced into working for the Russian government to pay for her grandmother’s medical bills.

Dominika trains to become a Russian operative called a Sparrow. Sparrows are trained to seduce foreign government officials in order to obtain sensitive information. Egorova is assigned to cozy up to CIA agent Nate Nash (James Edgerton) in an effort to find his contact in the Russian government.

Lawrence’s portrayal of Egorova is captivating as she continues to hold the audience’s attention with her acting. Stealing every scene she’s in, Lawrence does some of her best work in “Red Sparrow.”

Unfortunately, the chemistry between Lawrence and Edgerton is terrible, as their awkward interactions barely feel genuine. As the movie continues, it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that they would risk so much for each other due to their lack of connection.

Throughout the movie there are several extensive scenes of rape, brutality and violence. In each of these scenes, the shots are long and drawn-out, making them increasingly unbearable to watch. However, these scenes attribute to the quality of Lawrence’s performance as she makes every scene not only believable, but just as intense as it would be in real life.

The plot relies too heavily on the “seductive spy” trope, as scenes from the Sparrow School show her learning more about how to objectify herself than how to actually be a spy. In fact, the only tactic of espionage taught to these spies is lock-picking, showing how heavily the movie is playing on Lawrence’s seduction.

“Red Sparrow” is a timely commentary on the new face of Russian espionage. The movie focuses on Russia’s attempts to assert itself as the true world power while the West is torn apart with social media obsessions. The Sparrows are symbolic of these efforts, even though they are not the most realistic interpretation of current day Russian espionage.

Despite a strong combination of a great release date and an exceptional performance from Lawrence, “Red Sparrow” is a flop due to the lack of chemistry between characters, the excessive cruelty of the scenes and the objectification of Jennifer Lawrence.

Released on Mar. 2nd, “Red Sparrow” is rated R and can be seen in theaters nationwide.