AVA
Ava (2020)
There are certain actors who for one reason or another (astute decision making or excellent posture) lend gravitas to their projects. You know a Kate Winslet film. You know a Denzel Washington film. They’re like a Rainforest Alliance stamp. We cheerfully overlook their duds and shower them with our admiration. Same goes for Jessica Chastain. A quick memory jog through her IMDb exposes the odd stinker but still, I consider her a quality actress. Oscar nominated in Zero Dark Thirty and The Help she elicits a certain nobility.
Matching this gold standard we have jazz-voiced veteran John Malkovich with his unsettling charm. And Colin Farrell, the diet-hellraiser from the 2000s, who has fashioned a respectable niche in playing the unnerving yet charismatic weirdo.
The titular Ava is a reformed wild child, straightened up in the army and now a professional killer. She’s proficient but far too inquisitive for her boss’s liking and he wants her dead. It’s basically 1993’s The Asssasin without the Nina Simone soundtrack.
A really simple story with plenty of spy thriller tropes to keep you amused; the sexy disguises, hidden doorways into secret clubs, the hero’s preposterous capacity for foreign languages. The fight sequences are excellent and I appreciated how cut-up and bruised the characters became but especially how exhausted they were after fighting with such vigour. You rarely see that; you never see Bond need a breather. Brilliant.
Away from the deadpan killings we’re introduced to Ava’s mother who’s just as at ease at destroying her daughter’s self esteem. Despite the heavy subject these scenes are delivered with glee thanks to the genius casting of Geena Davis. Not only does she resemble our strong-jawed lead but it’s a nice nod to her own history of kickass pro killings in the wonderful and ludicrous The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Ava shouldn’t bother the Oscar voters but it’s short and stylish with an outstanding cast. A decent enough Friday nighter with a beer and a Chinese if you just need to switch off.
6 Adequate Thumbs Up!
