Red Sparrow is a 2018 spy-thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence who worked with Jennifer Lawrence (the star here) on a couple of the Hunger Games movies, but this is a very different beast. Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika Egorova (in, it has to be said, a not entirely convincing Russian accent), and Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenarts and Charlotte Rampling star as the film's secondary characters. This one is a pretty big departure from what Lawrence has done in the past, although it has to be said that she's making some pretty bold career choices. I'm not the first one to say that, and for a good reason: it's true. After last year's Mother! it appeared as if she was trying purposefully trying to appear in more "mature" films, and believe me, it doesn't get much more mature than Red Sparrow. The film plays out like one of those schlocky exploitation from the seventies, in that there's sexual violence, sex, violence, torture, and all manner o
American Made is a Biographical Crime film directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) and written by Gary Spinelli. It tells the story of Barry Seal (played by Tom Cruise), a commercial airline pilot who changes career to one as a pilot, taking reconnaissance photographs for the CIA in South America, and eventually begins moonlighting for a drug cartel run by Pablo Escobar. Eventually, the work begins to affect his family life.
I'll start with the good stuff. The film is very fast-paced, and runs like a well-oiled machine. American Made is pretty familiar directing territory for Doug Liman, but I thought there were a lot of unique elements in comparison to his other films. In the past, I think a lot of his films have lacked in verve and style, but here there's quite a bit of that. There's a lot more focus on character than action in this than things like Jumper or the Bourne Trilogy, too, and it definitely works in American Made's favour.
The film is also very well-acted. Caleb Landry Jones is great as Seal's brother-in-law, Domnhall Gleeson is on good form as Monty Schafer and Sarah Wright is pretty good as Lucy Seal, despite the fact that the character isn't particularly well-written. That's a common problem with films like this, which brings me to the bad things.
I know this film is about Barry Seal and the things he did, but in my opinion it could have done with a few more scenes that gave the supporting characters more depth. I won't spoil anything, but there are moments in the film in which other characters are affected by Barry Seal's choices, and they all serve to enhance his character more than theirs. Because of that, everyone else seems like nothing more than window dressing, there to ramp up the tension, and it does make the film feel a little emotionally flat on occasions.
There's nothing particularly original in terms of the Crime genre here. From the moment it began, I started to imagine others, like Goodfellas, Scarface and The Wolf of Wall Street. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the difference between American Made and its influences is that they have something which sets them out from the pack. There isn't much of that here, unfortunately.
Still, American Made is by no means a bad film. I was never bored, and the film is sharp, stylish and occasionally funny. I don't think it's particularly unique, and won't necessarily stand the test of time for a wider audience. However, for people who are big fans of the crime genre, there'll be a lot to enjoy here.
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