RED SPARROW (2018) Movie Review

The world is a very dark place run by greed, power, and sex. The corrupt thrive while the honest and innocent suffer. Such in the case for Ballerina Dominika Egorova in Red Sparrow , an young woman with passion for dancing and deep love for her sick mother. She becomes a top dance through hard work and virtue.

However, her dream is short lived because of the devious plot of a competing dancer who uses sex as a weapon. Her status and her security are ripped from her in a single moment. Sold out by her own uncle and desperate, the broken ballerina takes the only opportunity that comes her way. She becomes a sparrow, an elite Russian spy required to use sex as a weapon.

Sex breaks her body. Sex ruins her life. Sex nearly gets her killed. Suddenly, sex must become her own drive. She refuses. She avoids using sex as her weapon. She instead uses her brilliant mind and her intuition. That is what makes her the best.

She has one drive and one goal. Freedom. She wants desperately to escape her life as a sparrow. She wants freedom from her uncle. She wants a better life for her mother.

Romans 12:2 - "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (NLT)

She works very hard to achieve her goal. Everyone gravely underestimates her, because they are so blinded by their sex-driven ways of the world. It becomes their greatest weakness. Her cunning and insight gives her the ability to achieve her goal right under their noses.

Red Sparrow is a radical illustration about the consequences of worldly desires. More importantly, it shows us how virtue can still thrive through the use of intuition, insight and intelligence. Dominika never breaks. She never succumbs. She never takes her eye off the prize. Her intelligence keeps her protected from the evil around her.