How’s this for a premise – five twenty-ish ballerinas turn their dance moves into a brutal fighting style as they combat violent gangsters intent on killing them. That’s what director Vicky Jewson serves up with the stylish and fun “Pretty Lethal”. Sound silly? Well it certainly is. But Jewson finds a nice balance by not taking things too seriously but yet never winking at the camera. The tone can be a bit erratic. But the film remains entertaining throughout.
Screenwriter Kate Freund tells a girl-power story that avoids many of the traps that movies of its kind often fall into. It does so because Freund and Jewson stick close to their wild genre-bending vision. The story itself is straightforward to a fault, barely putting any time into developing its world or exploring its characters beyond the archetypes they are. But the genre elements surprisingly click, and the impressive cast fully commits to the blood-soaked chaos that unfolds in the film’s brisk 88 minutes.
“Pretty Lethal” follows a talented yet dysfunctional ballet troupe from Los Angeles who are invited to compete at the prestigious and potentially life-changing Budapest Showcase. Held together by their supportive teacher, Thorna (Lydia Leonard), the five young ladies are prima ballerinas whenever they’re able to put aside their petty differences and work as a troupe. But that’s easier said than done.
The tough outsider Bones (Maddie Ziegler), the pampered rich girl Princess (Lana Condor), the openly religious Grace (Avantika Vandanapu), the sensitive Zoe (Iris Apatow), and her hearing-impaired sister Chloe (Millicent Simmonds) arrive in Hungary with Thorna. But their trip hits a snag after a mixup at the airport forces them to take a clunker of a bus which promptly breaks down on a remote country road.
Realizing they will lose their spot to alternates if they don’t make it to the theater in time, Thorna and her dancers grab their things and set out walking. They eventually arrive at the out-of-the-way Teremok Inn which is ran by its mysterious owner, Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman). The group gathers in the inn’s restaurant and bar where they make an alarming discovery – in reality, the Teremok is a safe haven for mobsters.
But before they can leave the group has a violent encounter with Pasha (Tamás Szabó Sipos), the psychotic son of a powerful crime boss. Things spiral from there as the five ballerinas are locked inside with a mass of gangsters ordered to kill them before they can escape. Of course our tutu-sporting protagonists learn the hard way that the only way to survive is to work together. So they unleash their own special brand of “ballet-fu”, ferociously using everything from their flexibility to their choreography with delightfully bloody results.
Jewson doesn’t hold back on the violence or the absurdity. It’s hard not to let out a gasp at the brutality of some of the action. At the same time, it’s hard not to laugh at the lethal pirouettes, as ballerina’s armed with razor blades in the toes of their pointe shoes cut through waves of angry wise guys. Meanwhile Thurman chews the scenery in the best of ways, laying on the sinister villainy that’s both menacing and hilarious. Yet she brings an unexpected empathy that adds more layers to her character than first expected.
“Pretty Lethal” is another genre cocktail that has enough self-awareness to keep our expectations in check. We know what it is going in, and Jewson delivers exactly what she promises. I do wish the characters were given more depth, and it would be nice if the world was better defined. But it’s hard not to enjoy the all-in performances, the amusing interplay, the terrific production design, and the stylishly original action that is equal parts visceral and comical.
VERDICT – 3.5 STARS
Keith & the Movies 