Starring: Sasha Luss, Luke Evans, Eric Gordon, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren
Distributor: Pathe Films
Runtime: 119 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2019
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This French-American, English speaking, thriller film is directed by French Director, Luc Besson who has been responsible for many celebrated action movies in the past, including his well-regarded “La Femme Nikita” (1990), “The Fifth Element” (1997), and “Lucy” (2014). The movie has been embroiled in #MeToo complications after Besson was accused of sexual misconduct.
This film tells the story of a lethal French assassin who is highly successful at her job, but is looking for a way out of the life that she has been forced to lead. There are two other films with the same name, but have different Directors – one a supernatural horror movie in 2017, and the other a psychological thriller in 2013.
This movie shows Anna Poliatova (Sasha Luss) who is trying to recover from family abuse, and is now searching for another life. She hesitantly accepts an invitation delivered by Alex Tchenkov (Luke Evans), a KGB officer, to work as an assassin for five years, after which she is told she would be free to leave and forge another existence. Anna and Alex become romantically involved.
The KGB offer solves Anna’s dilemma in the short-term. The head of KGB, Vassiliev (Eric Gordon), however, fails to honour the agreement she was given. In the mean-time, Anna becomes an efficient assassin, driving fear into the lives of the rich and powerful business men she is told to kill.
While completing her contract, Anna works as a fashion model in Paris, and assassinates KBG targets in between fashion shoots. She is approached by the CIA when her cover is blown by Lenny Miller (Cillian Murphy), an American CIA agent, with whom Anna also becomes romantically involved. The CIA recruits her to assassinate Vassiliev, in exchange for her freedom and the promise of personal protection. She accepts, and crosses to the other side.
The consequent changes of Anna in her personality come to the attention of Olga (Helen Mirren), Anna’s KBG handler. Olga confronts Anna, but Olga realises that killing Vassiliev would make her the new Head of the KGB. Olga then sets up a complicated plan to pursue Anna, and after the deed is done, Anna manages to escape unarmed. Anna cuts loose from both the KGB and CIA, alters the way she looks, and embraces her new-found freedom.
This film proceeds predictably, except for some genuinely surprising twists and turns as the film comes to its conclusion. This is a female-centric, escapist action movie with a strong female lead which doesn’t really challenge viewers on the significant issues it raises, such as female-male empowerment, deception, and betrayal. The plot-line of this film just twists and turns, and in between Anna assassinates.
The film shows intense martial arts violence, with lots of stabbing, shooting, kicking, and impaling, most of which are accompanied by spilt blood and dead bodies. The cinematography is heavily dramatic, and the action is directed to produce a thrill a minute, as a beautiful woman terrorises those she has been asked to kill. The pacing of the film is complex – the film jumps back and forth through time, making liberal use of flashbacks to integrate past with present. The action itself is heavily stylised. The film is geared to constantly shock and surprise, which often doesn’t happen, but particular sequences – as when Anna assassinates a restaurant room full of men who fail to anticipate their fate – are impactful, and choreographed smartly.
When viewing this movie, two similar films immediately come to mind: “Atomic Blonde” (2017), and “Red Sparrow” (2018), both of which featured women assassins who dealt better with the complexities of spying in a man’s world. This movie essentially fails to deliver in its genre. It has action potential, and moments that thrill, but it is not a movie that shows Luc Besson at his best.
Peter W. Sheehan is Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
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