There is an uncomfortable smell of mothballs in "Red Sparrow", less because of the absurdity of, in the 21st century, we are still subjected to the distorted notion that each and every people speaks English, almost as a native language, more because of the stereotypical observation of geopolitics, nourished by the fragments of the Cold War. A shame, as the beginning is promising. Dominika (Jennifer Lawrence) is the star of the Bolshoi, the best-known and most prestigious ballet company in the world. The initial parallel montage shows a performance on stage alternating with what appears to be an international espionage operation, carried out by Nate (Joel Edgerton), a CIA agent who collects information from a high-ranking infiltrator in the Russian government. Both actions end in fateful events, the most significant of which is the injury that permanently derails the young woman's career on stage. Co-opted by her uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts), she accepts, first, a supposed data mining mission and, second, enters an arduous training program in order to become a soldier.

Until Dominika's enlistment, "Red Sparrow" breathes the air of homage, obviously making a constant allusion to the North American examples that appeared in the 80s, having as its theme exactly the dispute of nerves with Russia. However, the process of re-education of the protagonist, a break in the political flow that moves the pieces of this shady game, highlights a perspective that continues to be fueled by outdated preconceptions, but leaving aside pastiche, thus assuming for itself a discourse that sounds too anachronistic. It's one thing to watch a film from the time, contextualizing its ideas according to current thoughts. Another is to corroborate distorted views to favor the (re)construction of an imaginary of the United States as guardians of world peace, while its adversaries behave like guided automatons. Charlotte Rampling's character personifies the cold and calculating Russian, opposing in behavior the Americans who show pity and mercy, see Nate.

The film's director is Francis Lawrence, Jennifer's partner since the "Hunger Games" franchise. His work here is more adult due to the change in target audience, surprising with such shamelessness in a Hollywood production, explicitly showing what he thinks is necessary (even a surgical procedure right at the beginning). The first violent and nude scene may be shocking due to the intensity of the attacks, but the visuals are not clear, as the objective is a mere introduction to the strong scenes that follow - involving sexual violence and frontal male nudity, for example. The protagonist also displays her body (including nude), however no nudity is presented gratuitously: the sparrows are taught to seduce and manipulate (or seduce to manipulate) their targets, learning to use their bodies as an instrument of labor - this is how modus operandi of the protagonist, as well as that of a colleague she meets on the job.

The first half of the film, which deals with the protagonist's traumas as a dancer and her training in espionage and seduction (guided by a cruel Charlotte Rampling), makes a point of simultaneously encouraging and problematizing the use of sexuality as a weapon. We are introduced to Russian cadets who are taught to use their bodies as decoys on their missions. At one point, Dominika herself refers to the training center as "wh***re training", equating the spy service with prostitution - not just figuratively. After another rape scene (for what?), she leaves this academy for her first mission. And here, it seems like one film ends and another begins. In an attempt to not only tell an origin story but also deliver an authentic spy thriller, the Lawrences create and solve more mysteries than necessary, adding superfluous characters, false endings and more questions in our minds. Less funny than "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" or "Kingsman," less profound than "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spyor "Bridge of Spies," less thought-provoking than "Mission: Impossible" or the "Bourne" trilogy; "Red Sparrow" is all of that, but not enough.

In this second part the CIA becomes more active; with the meeting between Dominika and Joel Edgerton's character, the plot becomes about a spy who wants to betray her country. Or not. Or yes. The romance that blossoms between the two seems real, but it might not be, but maybe it is. This second part of the film is temptingly engaging - due to the successes of direction, sound, photography, etc. -, but the narrative plants enough doubt for us not to care about the characters (or their deaths) and not to be surprised by major revelations. Additionally, some sensual and raunchy scenes are added, to trigger the "sexy" factor in the film's description; some of them, unfortunately, end up just objectifying Lawrence, including the sex scene between her and Edgerton, which looks uncomfortable, rushed and completely awkward.

In the end, despite all the production's efforts to revisit classic spy films, to criticize or praise the sexual aspect of these narratives and to revamp the formulas that had been dominating them, "Red Sparrow" ends up disappointing Even with brilliant deliveries like the music by James Newton Howard - in addition to the already applauded results by Jennifer Lawrence and Francis Lawrence -, the film fails to become the great critical success it aims for, precisely because it tries to tell a full story in a film that must also be profitable . The photography by Jo Willems (Francis Lawrence's partner in the "Hunger Games" franchise) makes a point of framing the grandeur of the Russian State in the proportion between public buildings and passersby, creating beautiful desolate urban landscapes. The coldness that serves the ambience well, however, does not have the same result in one of the most essential aspects of the production. In a film that sets out to uncover the art of seduction, it is ironic that any sex scene is either crude or listless, but never exciting. The spy school run by Matron (Charlotte Rampling) is a bureaucratic manual of desire. If sex as a weapon of war needs to be efficient, not pleasurable, a counterpoint was necessary for the character at the center of the narrative to have some type of evolution. Dominika, however, although she becomes involved with the inexpressive CIA agent Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), does not have a moment to discover that sex can serve more than political interests. Francis Lawrence is bold in showing his protagonist's body in the portrait of her suffering and exploitation, but he is quite economical when it comes to presenting the other side, reinforcing the film's fetishistic perspective. When Dominika assumes a dominant position, it is always as a defense mechanism or tool of manipulation. Her body is never really hers.

Between uninteresting government conspiracies and obvious plot twists, perhaps it would be better to tell the story of Dominika's training through spaced-out flashbacks? Perhaps it would be better to reduce the number of trips and rental changes? Perhaps it would be better to omit the CIA scenes, increasing the intrigue? Maybe it would have been better to delete the whole Budapest roommate storyline? Or maybe it would have been better to make a miniseries of a few episodes and aim for some Emmys. It's an exaggeratedly long spy thriller without much action, but with colossal doses of sadism. The torture scenes (which occur in the face of more than one character) occur both in terms of explicit physical violence and psychological tension: some moments are shocking for the most sensitive audience, often investing in peripheral resources - such as acting - to the instead of resorting to bloodbaths. On the one hand, the competent makeup work simulating the bruises and, on the other, the correct use of the color red by the art direction is justified. Red is very present in the protagonist's costume, as in the tutu in the beautiful prologue and in a dress, she wears later, as well as in her lipstick, representing seduction, or even in the curtains of her training site, expressing violence. At other times, however, she wears black clothes, symbolizing sadness or anger. In the aforementioned prologue, Dominika is admired by a huge audience and the backlit footage reinforces the grandeur of the presentation; Meanwhile, Nate is in a more agitated moment, in a lonely place. The gradual increase in the rhythm of the sequence is accompanied by music - the imposing soundtrack is instrumental - and dance, with a Grand Finale.

"Red Sparrow" extends the "cat and mouse" longer than necessary, instigating it with this obsolete and patriotic look until it can no longer be done. Nate has feelings, cares about the fate of informants, putting his skin on the line to protect them. For every Yankee like him, there are dozens of figures like the instructor committed to turning the recruits into a bunch of identity less killers, or even the torturer with unorthodox methods. There is a stark difference between making use of the typified vision of the past and endorsing it. Francis Lawrence, here, falls into the second category. Furthermore, the development of the labyrinth of intentions is articulated in a shaky manner, with few subtleties, which determines the prevailing laxity. Jennifer Lawrence throws herself into the role, including physically, in a film previously commented on for its supposed courage in showing stars naked, which is half true, to say the least. It would have been better if this simplistic scenario, in which North Americans and Russians antagonize in such a Manichaean way, had remained there in the 1980s.