Dominika in Red Sparrow is really the one in control

A brilliantly layered movie, Red Sparrow offers a powerful lead character and manages catches you by surprise every time.

From the moment that Red Sparrow starts, you’re overtaken with curiosity as you try to figure out how two seemingly different people could be connected. The cross-cutting of Dominika (Jennifer Lawrence) and Nate (Joel Edgerton) slowly increases intensity with the rhythm of a magnificent, classical score.

This beginning starts off as a perfect demonstration of the director’s tactic to play with the audience as they watch along. You can’t help but be captivated as director Francis Lawrence expertly takes you on a ride through the thrills and mystery of Red Sparrow.

Dominika’s plight

Based on a novel of the same name by Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow follows the journey of how a Russian prima ballerina becomes a spy for the SVR (Russian Foreign Intelligence Service). After a career-ending injury on stage, Dominika Egorova is left with nothing but her name. Fearing the loss of her home and inability to care for her ill mother, Dominika takes up her uncle’s persuasive offer for a job with the SVR.

Unfortunately, things went horribly wrong, and the result left Dominika with a choice: death or Sparrow School. The school is a place where cadets are trained in espionage and seduction to gain information from their targets. It’s here that Dominika finds her first mission: to gain intel from C.I.A. agent Nate Nash.

As the movie progresses and Dominika gets pulled deeper and deeper into this messy situation, you get sucked in and wonder how she can find a way out. The continuous wonder of how she will get out of each situation is fantastic in the way that it slowly unravels and always manages catches you by surprise.

Taking control

The violence and brutality Dominka goes through happens as she descends further into a narrowing hole with each twist, making her situation more intense and claustrophobic as her options thin out.

Unless she wanted death, Dominika is coerced into her ultimatum, which worsens with each forced decision she has to make. But this story is far from a victimized narrative. As the movie progresses, the violence becomes more and more of a reality check for the character, reminding her of the risks if she fails and the extreme powers of the Russian State she works for.

It’s not a movie about oppressing women, even though on the surface it might appear that way.

This is a movie about power.

Dominika takes control over a system that’s meant to put you in place. She didn’t give them control, but merely let them think they had it. In one of the scenes, her mother says to her before she leaves for Sparrow School, “Don’t let him have all of you. . . that is how you survive,” and Dominika does just that. She uses her own intelligence to overcome what seems like an impossible set of obstacles. Ones that take almost all the person she is.

It’s really a story of how Dominika evolves and much less of a ‘spy movie,’ as she wasn’t really a spy to begin with. She was playing the part of a spy so she could get out of the situation she reluctantly got into.

A movie that knows itself

Lastly, it’s agreed that this movie might not appeal to everyone. But its strength lies in catering to a niche audience. Those who enjoy genres that explore corruption, betrayal and enigmatic dramas will most likely enjoy this movie over others.

Granted, there were parts where it may feel slow, but these parts offer a relief after the intense violence and the highly suspenseful scenes. However, the movie still manages to keep the audience curious as to what’s happening or what will happen next in those brief, less distressing scenes.

In accompaniment of the thrilling action, the musical score from James Newton Howard (The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight) was marvelous. Each song adds a subtle yet brilliant emphasis to the action scenes and dramatic points. This gives every turning point an added layer of anticipation as the musical score swells to an emotional crescendo.

Overall, Red Sparrow is a movie worth watching — as long as you don’t mind strong violence and sexual themes. This isn’t your typical spy action thriller; it’s this diversion from the typical fair of the genre that makes this movie worthy of praise.

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