Anna (2019) Review!!

Synopsis – Beneath Anna Poliatova’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins.

My Take – For a high octane spy action thriller, it sure is a surprise how this film despite having some familiar names attached to it, has flown under the radar till its release. A probable reason for that could be the attachment of French director-writer Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Lucy), who is still recovering from the failure of his 2017 sci fi epic, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and rape allegations, which were recently dismissed by a Paris prosecutor.

As a result, coupled with almost zero promotions and a much delayed limited release, not much was expected from this thriller. Turns out the film isn’t half as bad as one would have expected.

Being well-versed in female spy territory (his breakthrough was 1990’s La Femme Nikita) here director Besson once again flexes in déjà vu territory by staging his set of several bonkers violent action scenes and dramatic camera work to keep you hooked on for 118 minutes.

Yes, the film is deeply flawed, and the tale rather feels like an old wine in a new bottle, but it does manage to contain some very enjoyable elements. One being the entertaining exertions by Sasha Luss, the Russian supermodel turned actress who enlivens the title role of a lethal fashionista caught in a post-Cold War spy game. Personally, I enjoyed it for what it was. You can’t take it too seriously, but if you go along for the ride, it will be a fun one.

The story follows Anna Poliatova (Sasha Luss), a beautiful vendor of the unique nesting dolls in a Russian street market who finds a dream opportunity when a recruiter hires her as a fashion model in Paris. Once she reaches Paris, owing to her good looks, she quickly rises to the top.

However unknown to her co-workers and her girlfriend Maud (Lera Abova), she is actually an undercover KGB agent on a mission with a target in Paris. Years ago, Anna lived an abusive and drug-addicted life with her boyfriend, Petyr (Alexander Petrov), a small time criminal, but gets a second chance when Alex (Luke Evans), a KGB officer, introduces her to his boss, Olga (Helen Mirren), who trains her, and decides to employ her for five years following which she’s free to do what she wants.

While she turns out to be an excellent assassin, she finds trouble, when a mission goes awry and places her in front of Leonard Miller (Cillian Murphy), a wily CIA agent, with a personal grudge against Vassiliev (Eric Godon), the head of KGB. Now working for both agencies, Anna must do whatever she can do find her freedom.

Sound familiar? It should, as the plot is reminiscent of writer/director Luc Besson’s own classic 1990 film La Femme Nikita. However, the plot employs a nonlinear structure. Here, director Besson uses a shifting time structure that pretzels its timeline, beginning in 1985, jumping ahead to 1990, rolling back to 1987 and then bouncing forward and backward so many times it becomes its own running gag.

Personally I enjoy a good high-octane action film with twists. The best compliment a a film of this genre can get is that it had you on edge and guessing till the final scene. The level of twists and turns is borderline absurd though. There are twists on top of twists and turns on turns. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen a film just constantly try to one-up itself with plot twists. It’s a good thing, but it walks a thin line of becoming overkill.

Here, director Besson is riffing on spy films and their inherent double crosses and triple crosses, stopping just short of parody but letting the audience in on the trick. And thanks to his willing cast, the trick’s a pretty good one. Also like most action flicks, the film takes time to establish Anna’s character and let you into her bleak world.

It doesn’t rush into her spy world, but instead it navigates you through her troubled past and her new start as a supermodel in Paris. I appreciated this effort of deeper character establishment, in a genre where moving at rapid pace and jumping into action is the norm. Another major inspiration in the film is its action sequences.

In a post-John Wick world, it appears director Besson knew that he would have to bring some top-notch action here and the film delivers that with three action set pieces that can stand toe-to-toe with any sequences from the Keanu Reeves led series.

The shining example of this comes an hour into the film when Anna is tasked with eliminating a target in a crowded restaurant. The scene is an expertly crafted melee with steady camera work and minimal editing. In fact as I think back on the scene, I’m struggling to remember any cuts at all.

The action is fluid and brutal as Anna dispatches groups of henchmen with dual-wielded pistols and various improvised weapons. It is the kind of sequence that will bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded action fan.

Surprisingly even dark humor ripples through the jigsaw screenplay. Spy fans will be amused at one scene which involved a discussion how best to cut off a hapless victim’s finger, to avoid casting suspicion of CIA involvement.

Unfortunately, the film handles the romantic elements of the story in a very clunky way. It short hands romance and emotions with random sexual encounters between Anna and the two dashing government agents. Knowing about the accusations against Luc Besson it’s hard not to cringe at these questionable moments in the film when they occur.

Thankfully the performances are up to the mark for its genre. Former model Sasha Luss, who previously worked with director Besson on the misfire Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, has a strong on-screen presence. She looks stunning in the variety of costumes that the film has her appear in throughout its run time, and also handles the action elements in the film very well.

Helen Mirren shows here yet again that she can take the silliest material and almost single-handedly elevate it into something more worthwhile. Luke Evans doesn’t take on the action sequences in the film, does fine playing Anna’s mentor. Cillian Murphy is in his normal awesome self. On the whole, ‘Anna’ is an enjoyable action film which despite a tedious plot, offers a lot of chills and thrills with stunning action sequences and stylish direction.