‘Pretty Lethal’ SXSW Review – Ballerinas Slay in Bloody Action Comedy

Dune actor and Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet has taken a lot of heat for his recent remarks about ballet, which makes the arrival of Pretty Lethal amusingly timely. The bloody revenge thriller harbors unwavering reverence for the dedication and athleticism of ballet, so much so that it transforms a young ballet troupe into elegant killing machines, as if in direct response to the notion that the art form is outdated.

The troupe in question here can barely get along before they embark on a trip to Budapest to compete, but the voyage quickly derails with travel mishaps. That leaves the five ballerinas and their coach stranded in the remote countryside. They take refuge at the nearby Teremok Inn owned by former ballerina-turned-crime boss Devora (Uma Thurman). The troupe’s bad luck continues when one of their own is unceremoniously dispatched, forcing the surviving gals to rally their skills to survive the night.

Debut feature filmmaker Vicky Jewson, working from a screenplay by Kate Freund, assembles a charming young cast very game for the humor and killer pirouettes. Maddie Ziegler steals the entire film as rough-and-tumble Bones, the lead ballerina from the wrong side of the tracks, as well as the good graces of spoiled Princess (Lana Condor). Rounding out the troupe are pure Christian girl Grace (Avantika) and sisters Chloe (A Quiet Place‘s Millicent Simmonds) and Zoe (Iris Apatow), all varying degrees of over the Princess/Bones feud.

That makes their survival plight an entertaining bonding experience as they realize their strength in numbers against an entire inn full of bad guys who mean them harm. Jewson keeps ballet at the forefront of it all, informing everything from fight choreography to production design. On the former, Pretty Lethal has a blast translating a ballerina’s skillset and ability to withstand a lot of pain for the sake of their art into inventive combat sequences that see the ballerinas forge makeshift weaponry and lethal grand battements. More noticeable is their strong form; these ballerinas take their art form seriously and never break, even in peril.

It does take a bit for the girls to realize their strengths, though, with Freund’s surface-level script putting them in distressed damsel mode during the front half to establish the Inn’s backstory and the ballerina’s bubbly personalities.

The production design draws clear inspiration from John Wick, with the interiors of the Inn adorned in dim lighting, rich jewel-toned hues, and decor that blends ballet whimsy, thanks to Devora, and Hungarian crime boss grime. It feels too borrowed and nondescript for the effervescent protagonists and their more ditzy teen antics; this is a comedy through and through, even when spilling blood. Even the costuming comes across as a bit bland, with the girls forced into their plain white tutus, the perfect canvas for bloodletting, of course.

It’s a high-concept action-thriller that trades logic for entertainment, and fairly thinly written, but that’s to the fighting ballerinas and Thurman’s commitment to scene-chewing villainy, Pretty Lethal winds up a pretty fun time. Jewson’s debut refuses to take itself very seriously, which winds up as its biggest strength outside of its fierce ballerinas.

Pretty Lethal made its world premiere at SXSW and releases on Prime Video on March 25.