Jennifer Lawrence stars as Dominika Egorova in this psychological thriller starting as a Prima ballerina that suffers a horrendous career ending injury. After finding out the truth and getting revenge, her uncle Ivan Egorova, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, asks a favor to get her out of trouble. Without the benefits she receives from dancing such as, medical and living expenses, she must find another way to keep her mother well. Facing this, her uncle sends her to work for the state, which leads her to sparrow school where she learns how to manipulate targets using her mind and body. Upon graduation, her first assignment is to seduce a CIA agent which leads to bloody brawls and near-death experiences.

I found this film to consistently feed on a theme of deception with each and every character. We follow Dominika almost exclusively, but we get to see other characters motives from an early stage, which all come to fruition later on. Something that pushed the theme even further specifically was when Dominika is being tortured. We see the film angle showing us how powerless she is in that situation. Another is the motif of innocence as we see her hold on to this idea throughout the film, from denying allegations to denying men in their desires. Espionage pushes the idea of deception further as a couple of the characters we meet complicate the film even more. I really like how each step taken in this film seemed as if there was an underlying reason to it, with most of the scenes in the film having significance later on. This was a refreshing watch because most films these days just tell you what is going on instead of making you put it all together yourself.

Overall, this film does a very good job at keeping you interested through the longer run time that it features. The acting also keeps you engaged as we see Jennifer Lawrence do a fantastic job with the sociopathic character she plays. With that being said, this film may not be for the faint of heart. It is filled with some scenes that are gut wrenching and sometimes difficult to watch in both violence and sexual material. Many of those scenes, grotesque as they may be, provide a real and raw look into what Dominika had to go through in order to survive and provide for her mother. Many of the dead spaces are filled with thought provoking scenes or violent fighting that helps push the plot along without the presence of boredom. This film is a must watch, from the acting to the thrilling deception that is built through layers of violence and lust.