Atomic Blonde

(warning: contains spoilers for Atomic Blonde)

There aren't too many female-led action-spy thrillers in the world.  That seems to be a piece of the market cornered by the Bonds, Bournes, Hunts and...whatever Liam Neeson was called in Taken*...of the world.  See - that's four I named off the top of my head without even pausing typing this.  "Of course there is gender equality" someone in some corner of the internet will shout.  "Women spies are in loads of films.  There's...that woman in that thing...ooh, and Angelina Jolie in Salt - that was good...shut up, I want to watch Kingsman again.  There's a girl in that.  Stop moaning."  Take a moment.  Are any popping into your mind?  No?  Then I am delighted to recommend Atomic Blonde. 

I'm happy if you want to stop reading now to go and see this. 
I'll wait.

 Based on the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, Atomic Blonde is a story told in reverse (much like The Usual Suspects) from the point of view of super-spy Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron).  She is recounting her most recent mission to her superiors in MI6 (Toby Jones) and the CIA (John Goodman - who is racking up a particularly impressive IMDb listing this decade).  The Berlin Wall is due to collapse imminently, and a double agent has got a microfilm containing the details of every active agent in the Soviet Union.  Broughton's mission was to work with David Percival (James McAvoy) who is deep undercover in Berlin to find the microfilm, and uncover the double agent.  Spy stuff ensues.

Charlize Theron is an absolute tour de force in this, and a icon for feminists everywhere.  Following on from her Furiosa role in Mad Max: Fury Road (another character which seems "coded" for a man) she produced the film herself after reading the (then unpublished) graphic novel and trained with David Leitch (director and stunt choreographer of John Wick) to learn how to fight.  There was some crossover in training time between John Wick 2 and Atomic Blonde, so both leads trained together for their respective films.  Some of the similarities in technique are evident in the longer fight sequences - particularly the scenes on the stairs and in the apartment.  This role comes at a good time - there seems to be a sudden flurry of violent leading ladies in movies at the moment - Wonder Woman featured a little earlier in the year, while Red Sparrow and Proud Mary are slated for release in 2018 and it will be interesting to see how they all compare.

Broughton is an enigmatic character.  She is ruthlessly efficient in getting the job done (like John Wick), very quick to use the first thing that comes to hand to defend herself, (like Jason Bourne.  Except he never used his own footwear as a weapon) excellent at - and not adverse to - glugging down eye watering amounts of booze and having sex with the first woman who introduces herself (like James Bond).  She has next to no back story, and her sole motivation seems to be that she is a spy because it is her job.  Which is fair enough, I guess, but unusual.  Although I keep comparing it to other spy franchises (Atomic Bond? - come on.  That pun is just sitting there), it's not like them.  This is a film in which actions have consequences, and there's no such thing as a flesh wound, or a "sexy" injury.  Injuries hurt and wound - there's a particular scene in which Broughton is fighting someone, and both are punch drunk to the point of almost not being able to summon the strength to finish the other off.  You wouldn't get that in a Bond film.  Not even a Daniel Craig one.  Unlike male spies, she has to deal with a hefty dose of misogyny - "am I still a bitch now?" is a line that no male spy has ever had to say, but it's a satisfying rejoinder, if not a particularly pun-tastic one.  Unlike male spies, she seems to actually be affected by what she does (as the long opening scene of her sitting in an ice bath, covered in painful looking injuries, and looking shell-shocked would suggest). So...some good spying there.  Unlike male spies, she doesn't enter large public gatherings of all the people she's supposed to be spying on and loudly announce herself to them.  There is some nudity, but it isn't gratuitous, and it certainly shouldn't be titillating (think Cersei Lannister's walk of shame in Game of Thrones.  If you're finding it sexy, seek professional help.)

Ouch...

James McAvoy is also worth singling out for his performance as David Percival.  He always puts in a strong performance, whether in scrubbed up "boy next door" roles, or snarling psycho roles.  He injects an odd element of fun into the film which risks veering into heavy-going at times.  It is worth mentioning, though, that any laughing you do will be while wincing.  A notable scene is one where Percival has been - very literally - stabbed in the back, but just at the very point in his back where he can't reach the knife to pull it out. 

Visually, the film is glorious.  The whole thing screams 80s, from the neon lighting, and Theron's Madonna-inspired outfits, to the day-glo spray-paint stencils that denote time and place.  Everyone seems to be constantly drinking and smoking which seems so alien to see on screen now we're in the age of clean eating and vaping.  It's very stylistically of a specific time and place.  It's also horrifically violent, and the camera does not shy away from blood, guts and ocular trauma.
I write this review while listening to the soundtrack of this film, purchased before the kettle was even boiled on the return from the cinema.  The soundtrack is full of hits from Nena, David Bowie, George Michael and The Clash (amongst others) which have been taken unadulterated from source.  There's also a couple of excellent slowed down and remixed versions of 80s favourites - Kaleida's 99 Luftballons is particularly worth a mention.  Bizarrely, it seems to be the second major film this year to feature Flock of Seagull's I Ran (also in La La Land). 

This amount of 80s

As with Wonder Woman the weight of all feminist critique will rest on the shoulders of this film (unfairly), and be found wanting.  It is by no means a perfect film.  It takes about half an hour to get into it, and I'm not sure why.  Secondly, it is notable and somewhat disappointing that McAvoy gets significantly more screentime than a female sidekick would in any comparable male-led film, but I'm not sure if that's a criticism about this film, or a criticism about every other film.  That said, it still feels like a step in the right direction.  And that step is in sharp red stiletto heels.

*Brian Mills.  I had to look it up.