Red Sparrow is the story of a former Russian ballerina, Dominika Egorova, who has been turned into a spy for the Russian government after being blackmailed by her uncle who works in the Russian government. She is recruited into the Sparrow program where future spies train to be master manipulators of the body and mind. After training, she is sent to gain the trust of an American CIA officer, but she finds that he may offer her a path to freedom.

This is one of the most graphic movies I have ever seen from sex to violence to torture. The graphicness, however, is extremely necessary as it adds authenticity to the film. I was uncomfortable for the majority of the film, but I kind of liked it because I was also on the edge of my seat. For a two and a half hour long movie, it never dragged, which is impressive.

It was also one of those movies that has you playing mind games the entire time. You are never quite sure who the “good guy” and the “bad guy” are, and I found myself having competing interests multiple times.

Red Sparrow is not an action spy movie, but rather delves into the psychological part of being a spy. Dominika struggles with her conscience and the great pressure put on her life throughout the movie.

I enjoyed this movie as a whole, but the thought of sitting through it again is not appealing to me. It stretched the limits of the spy genre, and Lawrence gave a beautiful performance of a woman who can do so much more than the men in charge are willing to let her. We see her grow throughout the movie, ending in a plot twist that shows that she is finally grabbing control of her own story. I do not know if I would have ever have walked into that theater knowing now what I know about the movie. In fact, at one scene about 20 minutes in, I was ready to walk out. But I am so glad that I did not.

This is a movie that offers a lot more than I was expecting. If you are willing to look beyond the violence that almost acts as its own character in the film and look at what the movie is trying to express, it will leave you mind blown. This movie lives in the world of the gray, and does so effectively. I would give this movie a 4/5.