Ava (2020)

Jessica Chastain plays the elusive Ava, who is the top assassin of a shady company. However, as she relapses into alcoholism and a mental breakdown is on the way, the company deems her a liability and wants her gone. In sceneries reminescent of the John Wick movies, like hotel rooms, a flashy nightclub and abandoned church, she fights both physically and mentally to protect herself and the ones she loves.

Or at least, that’s the premise. In reality this straightforward storyline gets sidetracked a lot by Ava trying to reconcile with her family whom she abandoned, trying to save her ex-boyfriend from bad apples, and Ava’s mentor trying to save her. It took the strength and pacing out of the story, and took precious screentime away which I feel could have been used for making Ava’s mental “breakdown” seem more convincing. Technically, the movie had some flaws. Unfocused shots at times, the action scenes had an abundance of shaky cams and jump cuts (which I dislike), and digital zoom-ins made the editing just seem… off.

However, Chastain was not a bad actress in this movie by any means. She was just one of the top actors in what turned out to be a bit of a B-film.

Review by pearlinasilverbasin