Released: 20th August 2021
Length: 110 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Bryan Andrew Mendoze
Starring: Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Amy Brenneman, Adria Arjona and Lex Scott Davis
Typically, films that are grounded in the real world offer some additional engagement on top of their base offering. By putting ourselves in the characters shoes, a greater sense of relatability persists. The directorial debut of Bryan Andrew Mendoza features a family running foul of modern healthcare practices; outside of this contemporary setting, it has little else to offer.
We follow Ray Cooper (Jason Momoa), a man who loses his wife to cancer. A greedy pharmaceutical company has pulled a life-saving drug off the market, causing Amanda Cooper’s avoidable passing. Driven by anger and grief, Ray swears to track down CEO Simon Keely and exact revenge. With his daughter in tow (Isabela Merced), he’s soon forced to flee from both the law and nefarious corporate assassins. While it starts with a somewhat relatable premise, the film veers violently into a generic thriller with little in the way of depth or development. The only connections we have to the initial pitch are a set of political rallies; these form a flimsy link to the opening and don’t play a part in the greater narrative until the conclusion. We also cut to FBI detective Sarah Meeker (Lex Scott Davis) who is just as unengaging as our leading characters. Sweet Girl could have struck a more morally grey tone with its leads pursuing contentious actions to justify their means; what we get is a limp tale that fails to follow through on its realistic trappings. Even the late-game twist can’t salvage the proceedings; a lot of that comes down to the hollow characterisation.
While the cast of Sweet Girl is small, every member is held back by limited material. Jason Momoa does a reasonable job with his performance, but once Ray loses his partner at the film’s opening, the emotional core of Sweet Girl is immediately lost. For the rest of the film, he has little to do other than get into fights and threaten his pursuers. It’s the same gruff mannerism we’ve seen in countless flicks. The same is true for Rachel Cooper; the film attempts to place her on a middle ground as she reaches out to Sarah over the phone. It juxtaposes this against a side story of her boxing and attempting to move on from her mother’s death. Yet because the connection with her father is always playing second-fiddle to the chase sequences, she’s never able to draw much sympathy from the audience. The antagonists are pure fluff, relying heavily on basic clichés from the rich businessman to the cold assassin with no redeeming qualities; their presence is often cut short by the action scenes which heavily limits their impact on the story. When the confrontations do arrive, we know next to nothing about them or their motivations for chasing the leading duo.
By comparison, the aesthetics are merely passable; Sweet Girl does alternate through a series of grounded locales but their implementation isn’t all that creative. While the fight scenes are well staged, they rarely offer any heightened stakes or intensity. We have some close combat in a hotel and the same again at a wealthy gathering with little to distinguish itself from other releases. Outside of some occasionally painful looking injuries, the film’s edge is quickly dulled. The soundtrack sweeps the scene with an over-the-top flair, one that feels very out-of-place in a shallow story. Instead of being enthralled by the characters escaping, you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of banality; it’s as if the music is desperately trying to pull the audience into the narrative without the heart to back it up.
Despite its best efforts, Sweet Girl is a major let-down; the film’s crippling flaw is how little attachment we have to the characters. This makes the overly-grandiose action, social commentary and eventual twist all the more dissatisfying. It’s not worth your time or attention and its cast has done far better elsewhere.
Rating: 1.5/5 Stars (Bad)
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