Red Sparrow is a American spy thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe , based on the novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. It tells the story of a former- ballerina -turned- Russian intelligence officer , who is sent to make contact with a CIA officer in the hope of discovering the identity of a mole.
Matthews, a former member of the CIA, advised the production on the depiction of spying. Based on historic Soviet sexpionage and contemporary Russian use of kompromat , filming took place in Hungary , Slovakia and Austria.
Red Sparrow premiered at the Newseum in Washington, D. In modern-day Russia , beautiful Dominika Egorova is a famous ballerina who supports her ill mother. After she was injured by her dance partner during a performance, her career was over.
Several months later, the Bolshoi cut her off and she learned that the so-called accident was intentional as her ex-partner, Konstantin, and a rival dancer who replaced her, Anya, were lovers. Dominika sought payback by ambushing them in the Bolshoi showers and beating them with her crutches. To avoid prosecution and get some funds, she is approached by her uncle Ivan, the deputy director of the SVR.
She is tasked with seducing Dimitry Ustinov, a Russian gangster , in exchange for her mother's continued medical care. Meeting at a bar, the two go to her private room, where Dimitry attempts to rape her. Ivan offers Dominika a choice: become an SVR operative, or be executed for witnessing Ustinov's assassination. While meeting with a Russian mole code-named Marble in Gorky Park , they are confronted by the police. Nash creates a diversion to ensure his contact escapes unidentified. Nash is reassigned to the U.
