Red Sparrow

Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton,

Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenarts, 

Charlotte Rampling, Joely Richardson

"The Road to forgiveness begins with Betrayal"

Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) is a prima ballerina with the famous Bolshoi Ballet. But her career ends when she suffers a major injury during a performance. Her uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenarts), an intelligence officer forces her to be a recruit at the Sparrow School, a secret Russian intelligence service where the art of manipulation is ingrained. At first, she was reluctant but due to the special needs of her invalid mother, Dominika agrees. 

The school is run by a fierce matron (Charlotte Rampling) who pushes the recruits to their limits. Manipulated and coerced into unpleasant situations where they use their bodies as instruments of seduction, the training is quite brutal and pays a heavy toll on some of the recruits. But Dominika is a strong-willed person, her background in ballet is a plus, she strives and is soon assigned to her first 'assignment'. 

Things though get complicated when her next task involves luring a CIA agent, Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton) to trust her with his knowledge about the intelligence and state security of both countries. This part gets complicated as there is a thin line on who is recruiting whom, is Dominika a double agent, who exactly is orchestrating the entire operation etcera etcera etcera. You know, spying and counter espionage tactics which can be quite murky for us, commoners.

Now here is the thing. Jennifer Lawrence with her 'fake' Russian accent is quite convincing in her role as the feisty Dominika. She portrays her character with the fortitude of a woman who has been through a lot but continues to strive amidst the adversities she encounters. The rest of the cast all do good in their respective roles. Special mention goes to Charlotte Rampling as the tough, no-nonsense trainer at the Sparrow School, she could melt ice with her piercing gaze. The setting is appropriate with the meanderings of a spy thriller, cold bleak weather adding to the whole espionage vibe.

I get the first part, the whole vicious training at the Sparrow school. I mean, from watching the gripping TV series, “The Americans”, I know these Russian spies are very well trained and can easily adapt to any situation which may arise. 

But the latter part where the two main leads interact with each other in a game of deceit, lies and manipulation, the plot becomes very complicated and not in a good way! Perhaps the writers wanted it that way, to add an aura of mystery or may be I was slow in comprehending this thriller. Either way, I have read other reviews where most of them agree that the plot was sorely lacking in more ways than one.

Having Jennifer Lawrence as its lead and she did well as Dominika was not enough. I conclude by saying, Red Sparrow had all the potential of being a good spy thriller, yet it failed to manipulate us into this web.

Murder on the Orient Express

Johnny Depp, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer,

Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi, Penelope Cruz,

Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad

"Everyone is a Suspect"

This latest remake of the Agatha Christie's novel is directed by Kenneth Branagh who I grew up watching in several films with his ex wife Emma Thompson. In this tale, he portrays the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. A role which I normally associate with the actors Peter Ustinov (in his late years) and David Suchet whom I remember as being really good characterization of Poirot. 

Murder on the Orient Express is one, if not the most famous Agatha Christie novel. The book, set in the late 1930s is a crime story with numerous characters who all become suspects in the murder that occurs on board this famous train ride. A journey that was interrupted by an avalanche which blocks the rail tracks. Poirot who happens to be a passenger on the train takes it upon himself to probe the murder, given that he is under immense pressure to solve 'the crime' lest the killer strikes again and before they reach their destination.

Kenneth Branagh takes on the gargantuan task of directing as well as essaying the main role which entails sporting the famous moustache, his witty analysis of every circumstance with his natural probing attitude. Although Branagh tends to overact with his soliloquies, his Poirot was spot on.  

The rest of the cast headed by the enigmatic Johnny Depp all blend in well together. Each of them performing their best in a sea of characters who all want to stand out. Yet they do well with the complicated dialogue which is reminiscent of the manner, English was spoken during that era.

Costume wise, they are all garbed befitting the late 1930s. The plot with its numerous twists and flashbacks can be a bit murky, trudging and clocking in 114 minutes. Certain scenes were dragging on unnecessarily while a few vital sequences passed by too quickly.  Overall, the film is buoyed by its great cast who did their best to keep us invested in the whodunit till the very end, with its big reveal folding up nicely towards the somewhat, dare I say forced conclusion.  

I remember watching the 1974 version of this film with Albert Finney as Poirot, but my short attention span memory completely blocked out who the killer was and how it all ended. Therefore I was gripped with suspense and wanted to learn who committed the crime in this version, even though Kenneth Branagh with Poirot's moustache engaging in a soliloquy ever so often can be quite distracting, I'd say!

Last Flag Flying

Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston

"Their last Mission wasn't
on the Battlefield"

Yet another movie that deals with grief (yes I know, I like watching films with a lot of drama). Not too hysterical, subtle yet fraught with emotion-filled performances from its three lead stars, this Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise trilogy, Boyhood) movie explores grief and friendship.

2003, three ex-Marines reunite after 30 years to help one of them bury his son who was killed in the Iraq war. Despite never keeping in touch nor being updated on each others lives, the bond between them resumes during the long journey (road trip, train ride) to bring the remains to his hometown.

Veteran actors Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell portray their well developed characters, brilliantly. Each of them contributing their artistic skills to flesh out characters who are basically strangers to each other but their being Marines prevail and together they help each other out, reunited by a common denominator named grief. The three of them reminisce about their 'experiences' during the Vietnam war, painful and traumatic memories. Even as another war (the Iraq war) claims another fatality, Larry's (Steve Carell) son. 

This isn't a anti-war film nor does it justify the act of war, even though there is one specific scene which clearly show the lack of transparency vis a vis the cause of death of a soldier. This scene comes to mind as we see each of the three characters handling the said situation, differently. This is not to say which reaction was correct or who overreacted yet the way each of the characters essayed out this scene says a lot about the range of their acting talents. 

Therefore it is scenes like these, which is reminiscent of a Linklater narrative and makes for great viewing. Never mind if the film didn't do well in the box office or it isn't headed by a known actor, the story is poignant and sometimes in the grand scheme of things, it is enough.