Red Sparrow

When Russian ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) suffers a devastating injury, the Bolshoi will no longer pay for her Moscow apartment and care for her ailing mother (Joely Richardson). And that’s when lecherous Uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts), deputy director of Russia’s external intelligence agency SVR, makes her an offer she cannot refuse: Dominika must entice and betray an oligarch, luring him to her hotel room. What she doesn’t realize is that she will be raped and he will be assassinated. Vanya then tells her that she knows too much and must die if she won’t work full-time for his agency. Dominika is dispatched to State School 4, where the sadistic matron (Charlotte Rampling)—utilizing ritual degradation and humiliation—teaches recruits how to become a “sparrow,” adroit in psychological manipulation and seduction. “You sent me to whore school,” defiant Dominika accuses Vanya. Meanwhile, American spy Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) arrives in Budapest to contact his secret asset, a high-ranking mole within the Russian government. Dominika is sent to earn Nate’s trust and discover the mole’s identity. Based on the titular 2013 bestseller by ex-CIA operative Jason Matthews, and voyeuristically directed by Francis Lawrence (who indulges in far too much brutal, gratuitous violence in the torture sequences), this grim and gruesome espionage thriller is made more palatable by Lawrence’s audacious performance. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Francis Lawrence, and deleted scenes (12 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the production featurettes “Agents Provocateurs: The Ensemble Cast” (16 min.), “A Puzzle of Need: Post-Production” (14 min.), “Tradecraft: Visual Authenticity” (14 min.), “A New Cold War: Origination and Adaptation” (13 min.), “Welcome to Sparrow School: Ballets and Stunts” (12 min.), and “Heart of the Tempest: Locations” (11 min.), as well as bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven thriller.] (S. Granger)