#REVIEW: “THE RHYTHM SECTION”

Review by Mr. Will Wong

While it certainly contains gaps and questions to be answered, Blake Lively delivers a scorching-hot performance in The Rhythm Section.

Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) has turned to a life of drugs and prostitution after losing her family entirely in a plane crash. With the sudden visit by a journalist claiming to know who was responsible behind the catastrophe, Stephanie goes on a dangerous mission to find herself in exacting her violent revenge, but first she must regain her strength and she does this under the guidance of B (Jude Law), who pushes her to every limit. She finds herself on a fatal path, taking on a new identity in a dark world fighting to stay alive.

Reed Morano does a fantastic job drawing her audience into Stephanie’s world. The action is gruelling and the violence is abundant, but we are rooting for our heroine who isn’t afraid to fumble and fall. Mark Burnell‘s story perhaps entrusts its audience to put aside their disbelief a bit too much at times making it look a bit too easy for Stephanie. Motives aren’t explained quite clear enough and characters read more like obstacles in Stephanie‘s way rather than actual characters.

That being said, Lively soars in a performance which is calm and cool, vulnerable and searing with rage beneath the surface. She carries the Film start to finish and gives us incredible range as she carries Stephanie from tragedy to redemption. Not only this, you feel every ounce of her pain whether she is getting banged-up, trembling in icy waters or picking glass shards out of her hand, handling the physicality of the role masterfully. A compelling performance which makes us forget the Film’s flaws.

Paramount Pictures Canada release THE RHYTHM SECTION Friday, January 31, 2020.