Film Review: ‘Ava’
ot since 2010’s ‘Salt’ has a woman-led spy movie truly been a commercial success. While 2017’s ‘Atomic Blonde’ and to a lesser extent 2018’s ‘Red Sparrow’ were both generally well-received modest commercial successes, their box office tally doesn’t even come close to the almost $300 million earned by the Angelina Jolie starrer back in 2010. They also arrived within a sea of other similar movies released in the past 10 years, including ‘Colombiana’, ‘Peppermint’, ‘Anna,’ the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot and this year’s ‘The Rhythm Section’, all of which were critical and commercial flops. Unfortunately, despite the talent involved, ‘Ava’ is not the exception to the rule that many hoped it would be.
Plagued with controversy since it was first announced due to its association with alleged abuser Matthew Newton, who wrote the script and at one point was set to direct, ‘Ava’ centers on a deadly assassin (Jessica Chastain, who also produced under her Freckle Films production company) who finds herself the target of a hit sent out on her by her former co-worker Simon (Colin Farrell) after one of her jobs goes incredibly awry. At her wits’ end, she returns to her hometown, where she tries to reconcile with her estranged mother (Geena Davis) and sister (Jess Weixler), and enlists the help of her former mentor (John Malkovich) to try and escape her fate.
It’s hard to pinpoint what it was about the script for ‘Ava’ that caught Chastain’s attention, let alone encouraged her to still pursue the project (with ‘The Help’ helmer Tate Taylor replacing Newton in the director’s chair) after Newton’s past incidents of verbal and physical assault emerged and caused an uproar online, with critics accusing her of hypocrisy for working with him while presenting herself as a staunch supporter of the #MeToo movement. Painfully derivative and riddled with logical inconsistencies, plot MacGuffins and awkward bouts of dialogue, ‘Ava’ plays out like a screenplay written by an AI forced to consume hours of (much better) spy-based content and generate a script with the very worst parts of what it had seen.
Painfully derivative and riddled with logical inconsistencies, plot MacGuffins and awkward bouts of dialogue.
The direction doesn’t fare any better, with Tate Taylor attempting his best Luc Besson impression and sleepwalking his way through the film’s 96-minute runtime. The fight scenes, of which there are plenty, come off as too choreographed and calculated; one in particular, between Farrell and Malkovich, is painful to watch, with frequent cuts and slow, lethargic movements rendering it laughably exhausting and an absolute eyesore to get through. The film is also sloppily edited, drifting aimlessly from scene-to-scene with no cohesion or flow. Composer Bear McCreary, who has done incredible work with ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ and ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’, attempts to inject some life into the movie with an eclectic, syncopated score that percolates through the loud and overbearing action scenes but it unfortunately isn’t enough to distract from the schlocky surroundings.
Common, playing Ava’s ex-boyfriend who went on to inexplicably date and later propose to her sister, is serviceable in a terribly underwritten role. Weixler, as Ava’s musician sister, tries her best (but unfortunately fails) to find any depth in what is very much a thankless character. Elsewhere, Davis is her usual charming self as Ava’s overbearing mother while Malkovich is painfully miscast as an “M” or “Charlie” type figure, his sluggish charm working against the professionalism and imperturbability of the character that the screenplay tries very hard to establish. Farrell, however, is electric as Ava’s arch-nemesis Simon, lighting up the screen with some much-needed energy in a role reminiscent of some of his earlier performances. Diana Silvers establishes enough presence in the very little scenes that she has, communicating solely with her physicality and facial expressions. It’s a shame that she’s wasted on a character whose only purpose is to act as a misguided set-up for a sequel to the film.
The movie’s only saving grace, though, is the powerful performance from Jessica Chastain at its center. As the heart and soul of the film, Chastain gives one of the best performances of her career, fighting her hardest to elevate the surrounding material to various degrees of success. A subplot involving Ava’s alcohol addiction is the only time the movie ever really works thanks to the conviction and bravery with which Chastain tackles the material, diving deep into the anguish and self-loathing that defines the character and emerging with a nuanced and compelling portrayal of grief and addiction, which is far more than the script deserves. If there’s any reason to watch ‘Ava’, it’s Chastain, who expresses more emotions and tells more stories with her eyes alone than most actors – and in this case, screenplays – can do with their words. It’s a real shame that the rest of the movie can’t quite catch up to her.
As the first film to emerge out of Chastain’s production company, ‘Ava’ doesn’t exactly cast the best first impression. The next project, another spy thriller titled ‘365’ and directed by ‘Dark Phoenix’ writer and director Simon Kinberg, doesn’t inspire much confidence either but if her performance in it comes even close to the one she gives in ‘Ava’, it’ll be worth the price of admission alone.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
‘Ava’ is currently playing in theaters in some territories and is scheduled for a VOD release in the United States on September 25.
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