Ava
2020 · Directed by Tate Taylor
Original language: English
- action
- thriller
- crime
The story
A black ops assassin is forced to fight for her own survival after a job goes dangerously wrong.
What it’s like
Cold, saturated color and hard, glossy digital light: the film moves between sunlit European piazzas, rain-slick city streets, and sterile corporate interiors, with Tate Taylor's camera mostly close and kinetic, handheld during the fights and sliding into tight two-shots during the quieter, more clinical conversations. Action sequences are sharp and bodily, with punches, gunfire and knife work shown at a distance that makes them feel abrupt rather than lingering, and the violence is real and frequent but not gratuitous, with blood and injury present without a gore-forward focus. The score is pulsing synth and percussion under a layer of tense, almost hushed ambient sound that drops out before each burst of action. The vibe is cool, brittle and tense, a late-night thriller with a sense of professional detachment cracking under pressure. Pacing is brisk, with long stretches of watchful waiting broken by fast, unforgiving set pieces. The emotional register stays at arm's length, following a hardened operative who must rebuild her footing and reconsider the people who run her life. It suits a dark evening with the lights low, and it is best for viewers who want a grounded, pressure-driven espionage thriller with a female lead, moderate-to-high violence and a hard edge.
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