Red Sparrow [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: Francis Lawrence Francis Lawrence

Overview

A Russian ballerina (Jennifer Lawrence) is recruited for a brutal training regime for "Sparrows," highly trained spies who use their sexuality to manipulate their targets. She is assigned to seduce a CIA officer (Joel Edgerton) as part of a mission to uncover a mole within the Russian government, but she is soon tempted to turn double agent and strike back against her cruel handlers. Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeremy Irons, Mary-Louise Parker, Charlotte Rampling, and Joely Richardson co-star. Directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Red Sparrow is based on the novel of the same name by Jason Matthews.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/22/2018
UPC:	0024543418009
Original Release:	2018
Rating:	R
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Region Code:	A1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:20:00

Special Features

Closed Caption; A New Cold War: Origination & Adaptation; Agents Provacteurs : The Ensemble Cast; Tradecaft: Visual Authenticity; Heart of the Tempest: On Location; Welcome to the Sparrow School: Ballet & Stunts; A Puzzle of Need: Post-Production; Director Commentary by Francis Lawrence; Deleted Scenes (With Optional Commentary By Francis Lawrence)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jennifer Lawrence	Dominika Egorova
Joel Edgerton	Nathaniel Nash
Matthias Schoenaerts	Vanya Egorov
Charlotte Rampling	Matron
Mary-Louise Parker	Stephanie Boucher
Jeremy Irons	Korchnoi
Joely Richardson	Actor
Sakina Jaffrey	Actor
Ciarán Hinds	Actor
Douglas Hodge	Actor
Bill Camp	Actor
Thekla Reuten	Actor
Sergei Polunin	Konstantin
Sasha Frolova	Actor
Sebastian Hülk	Actor
Ingeborga Dapkunayte	Ballet Director
Nicole O'Neill	Actor
Kristoff Konrad	Actor,Actor
Christopher O'Hara	Actor
Judit Rezes	Actor
Kata Palfi	Actor
Karen Gagnon	Actor
Cameron MacConomy	Actor
Hugh Quarshie	Actor
Sergej Onopko	Actor
David Z. Miller	Actor
Makar Zaporozhskiy	Actor
Zsolt Viczei	Actor
Tom Morley	Actor
Endre Szilvasi	Actor
Patrick McCullough	Actor
Gabi Borsoviczky	Actor
Andrea Takats	Actor
Joel de la Fuente	Actor
Louis Hoffman	Bank Manager
Tanya Vital	Actor
Kinsco Norah Petho	Actor
Zsolt Anger	Actor
Lauren Glazier	Actor
Scott Alexander Young	Actor
Isabella Boylston	Actor
Sokol Cahani	Actor
Graham Bryan	Actor
Attila Arpa	Actor
Simon Szabo	Actor
Judit Viktor	Actor
George Mendel	Actor
James Newton Howard	Composer
Bálint Adorjáni	Detective
Simon Szabó	Actor
Julia Ubrankovics	Nurse
Bernardo Santos	Heathrow Security
Deborah Rock	Holidaymaker
Attila C. Arpa	Ustinov's Security #1
Árpa Attila	Ustinov's Security #1
Roy Beck	Russian traveller
Anna Tilbury	Runner and Pedestrian on the Street

Technical Credits

Justin Haythe

Francis Lawrence	Director
Justin Haythe	Screenwriter
Peter Chernin	Producer
Jenno Topping	Producer
David Ready	Producer
Mary McLaglen	Executive Producer,Producer
Garrett Basch	Executive Producer,Producer
Jeremy Peirson	Sound/Sound Designer
Priscilla John	Casting
Zsolt Csutak	Casting
Denise Chamian	Casting
Juraj Molnar	Production Manager
Dalibor Vasica	Production Manager
Monika Nagy	Production Manager
Béla Unger	Stunts
Lee Sheward	Stunts
Chris O'Hara	Stunts
Gerd Nefzer	Special Effects Supervisor
Daniel Neves	Special Effects
Steven Zaillian	Producer
Jeffrey Harlacker	Producer
Cameron MacConomy	Producer

Editorial Reviews

There is a difference between a stoic disposition and being just plain stone-faced. Jennifer Lawrence clearly does not know this. Throughout Red Sparrow, in which she plays the lead role of Dominika Egorova, she seems determined to move her face as little possible, especially during the moments in which one imagines her character is experiencing great emotional tumult. Whatever it is she is trying to do, she's certainly outmatched by her co-star Joel Edgerton, whose performance as CIA agent Nate Nash comes off as an actual human being compared to Lawrence's Russian-spy robot. Nevertheless, this and a few other shortcomings can be overlooked and Red Sparrow can be deemed a successful spy film. It succeeds because it repeatedly builds crescendos of tension. During clandestine exchanges, safe-house invasions, torture-driven interrogations, and several junctures during which characters must decide whether to cut and run to save their own hides or push deeper into some subterfuge to go for the big payoff, the film rattles viewers' nerves as we bounce around Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, and London. Red Sparrow boasts an exceedingly strong supporting cast, which includes Jeremy Irons, Mary-Louise Parker, and Charlotte Rampling. Parker doesn't get much screen time, but makes the most of what she does get as Stephanie Boucher, a somewhat hapless but ethically challenged government staffer. Irons is superb as General Korchnoi, a man at the highest level of the chain of command above Dominika, and Rampling plays the severe headmistress of a spy school to a T. However, the film stumbles in taking so long to set up its plot that it actually feels like two different movies. Dominika's journey into the world of spycraft is a rather tragic and twisted one, and while this story is interesting in and of itself, it isn't really necessary since Red Sparrow ends up treating it like just a prologue for the main tale. The opening act also has a sort of clunky feel to it, as if the filmmakers knew it only existed for expositional purposes and they didn't have to be as artful regarding its execution. It might seem like a bit of a stretch that a film could land in the "still worth watching" category despite a perplexing performance by its lead actress, but chalk it up to the strength of what Red Sparrow does right that this recommendation can be made with a straight face. It's possible there are other things a spy movie could do, but as for what we know a spy movie should do, it's all here.