Red Sparrow: The Book or the Movie?

Spy novels have been a fixture in the world of fiction for quite some time now, dating as far back as the early 19th century. However, it wasn’t until the 20th century that they really got a foothold in the literary world, many as a response to the two World Wars and their aftermaths. Whether it’s Ian Fleming’s slick world of 007, John Le Carré’s masterful Cold War-era offerings, or Robert Ludlum’s suspenseful power struggles such as his most famous work involving super spy Jason Bourne, the spy novel takes up a large chunk of real estate in the world of fiction. What can make the genre especially challenging is presenting material that is authentic, which, for an author like Le Carré, probably came naturally due to his being a former spy in the British MI5 and MI6. This likely helps explain why Jason Matthews, himself a former CIA agent of 33 years, was able to produce such a realistic depiction of espionage in his debut novel, Red Sparrow.

Red Sparrow follows Dominika Egorova, a Russian ballet dancer in Moscow whose uncle, a high-ranking deputy in the SVR (the Russian external intelligence agency and successor to the KGB), forces her into “Sparrow” training, an art of espionage in which members are trained to use sexual seduction as a way to trap high-profile targets. Due to an injury that cuts short her ballet aspirations, Dominika begins training against her will, convinced to do so due to the need to support her ailing and widowed mother, eventually graduating and sent out into the field. Her fist mission is to trap an American CIA agent, Nathaniel Nash, who handles an important mole inside the SVR code-named MARBLE, whose identity Dominika must find out. However, what starts out as ‘sexpionage’ on the part of Dominika turns into a highly dangerous and forbidden love affair that continues throughout Palace of Treason and The Kremlin’s Candidate, the second and third novels in Matthews’ trilogy.

One interesting characteristic that Matthews gave to Dominika’s character is that she has what is known as synesthesia, a condition that manifests in her being able to see colours above people’s heads that tell her what type of person they are. For instance, yellow represents treachery and greed, and black represents evil, two colours Dominika often sees among many of the higher-ranking SVR members, while purple symbolizes honesty and serenity, colours that she sees in both Nate and her father. Not only is this a fascinating condition in itself, but also being able to see behind the curtain like this tips off to the reader as to what we are in store for, making for a unique and enjoyable reading experience.

Another thing Matthews did in this book and the other two in the trilogy is include a recipe at the end of each chapter, one that was from a dish or comfort food that had been somehow present in that chapter. Seeing as the novel takes place in many different cities and countries around the world, we get a very colourful collection of authentic, inspired treats from around the world. To give a few examples, at the end of chapter 9 we are given a recipe for “Jean Jacques Beef Stew Dijonnaise” while chapter 17 provides us with a recipe for “Gable’s Cheese Fondue,” a very tasty-sounding dish that was cooked by a character in the book named Gable, the CIA Deputy Chief of Station in Helsinki to whom Dominka develops a fatherly fondness for. Although it didn’t add to the plot or story per se, it did serve to enrich the story and give the reader a little extra something to look forward to at the end of each chapter.

Despite being somewhat of a thick read, the book flows nicely and introduces many new twists an turns as we see both Nate and Dominika in pretty tense situations. Dominika, acting as a double agent, is climbing through the ranks of the SVR to help take it down from the inside. Although she loves her country, she hates those whom she deems corrupt, especially in retaliation to how her mother and father were treated. Nate, for his part, is a fluent Russian speaker who goes deep undercover and is tasked with protecting the identity of the Russian mole nicknamed MARBLE, who, if found out, would be endlessly tortured and would die a slow and painful death. It is plot points like these that keep the story interesting and moving forward and lead to what is ultimately a very satisfying conclusion and one that leads nicely into the second book. Fans of spy novels should definitely pick this one up as it has everything in it that you could hope for and more.

In 2018, director Francis Lawrence (Hunger Games trilogy, I am Legend) turned Matthews’ riveting source novel into a two hour and twenty-minute feature-length film. He cast oft-collaborator Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook) to play the beautiful Dominika and Joel Edgerton (Warrior, Zero Dark Thirty) as CIA operative Nash. Other fantastic actors such as Jeremy Irons (Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Man in the Iron Mask), Charlotte Rampling (Stardust Memories, Swimming Pool) and Mary-Louise Parker (Red, Bullets Over Broadway) filled in some of the supporting roles. Lawrence and his team made a few changes from the book, such as shifting part of the action from Helsinki to Budapest, and cutting the character of Vladmir Putin, who had played a sizeable role in the book, due to the belief that his presence as a character would be a distraction to the film.

While the film certainly has its thrilling moments, especially the scenes which show an operation being run, perhaps the overall pacing was a tad bit slow. It should be noted that I had read the entire trilogy before seeing the movie so knowing what was to come perhaps served to lessen some of the potential excitement. Despite the two different mediums, it’s natural for film-goers to compare the book to the film and gripe about all the changes that have been made as well as characters or scenes that didn’t make it into the film. However, you need to keep in mind that film as a medium has certain limits to it, and a film is often best served by cutting away the fat so as to have a tighter movie-watching experience. After all, movies are meant to be watched in one sitting whereas books are designed to be read one chapter at a time.

That is not to say the film was by any means bad; on the contrary, it was actually quite good. Lawrence and Edgerton in particular were perfectly cast in their respective roles, and Lawrence especially proved once again why she is one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. She played the seductress Dominika with so much poise yet blended in a visceral vulnerability that can be felt throughout the film. This is definitely not a role that just any old actress could play believably so Lawrence certainly earns her stripes in making us believe she’s a Russian double agent who is an expert in sexpionage. Near the beginning when Lawrence’s character is in Sparrow school, the way her initial discomfort with the process eventually turns into confidence and empowerment is something to marvel at.

While I actually quite loved the film, especially the fact that they didn’t really hold back from the oftentimes dour and explicit subject matter, it’s hard not to recognize the brilliance and fine-tuned detail that Matthews gave the book. He clearly put so much time and effort into crafting an exciting, authentic post-Cold War spy novel that is, by my estimate, one of the best of its kind in the past twenty years. For that reason, I’m going to have to go with the book on this one. No disrespect to Lawrence and Lawrence, who collectively made a great adaptation out of Matthews’ novel, but this, sadly, is not a film that is likely to get its sequels made. It’s a shame, too, because the arc of the trilogy is quite fascinating and comes to a very thrilling conclusion.

On a final sad note, Mathews passed away earlier this year at the age of 69, which means the Red Sparrow trilogy represents the entirety of his work. I would have loved to have seen what else he may have been able to contribute to the world of spy fiction.

Final verdict: the book.

To pick up a copy of Matthews’ exciting spy novel, click here. Plus, take a look at the trailer for the 2018 film starring Jennifer Lawrence below.