SXSW Film Review: Pretty Lethal

They may look like elegant swans in their white tutus and leotards, but underneath their costumes, these young ballerinas are just a bunch of bickering chicks. When imperiled, the self-absorbed girls learn that there is strength in numbers and that pointe shoes can be deadly.

Following an introductory opening scene, five young American ballerinas and their teacher are off to Budapest, where they are scheduled to appear in an international ballet competition. The film is all Mean Girls in ballet slippers until their bus breaks down in Nowheresville, Hungary. Finding shelter from the rain at a nearby inn populated by a shady underworld (and run by a bitter ex-ballerina played by Uma Thurman), they have barely a moment’s relief before mayhem erupts. In the fight for their lives, the ballerinas learn that their dance training has unexpectedly prepared them for lethal combat and, consequently, they pirouette their way to an impressive body count.

Pretty Lethal’s premise is simple yet tantalizing. The script by Kate Freund contains little more plot than its all-consuming battle royal, yet with the guidance of director Vickey Jewson, distinct characters emerge. Played by Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, and Maddie Ziegler, the ballerinas become quite the girl group. Jewson clearly revels in showing the unique fighting capabilities rendered by the ballerinas’ virtuosic physical training and stamina. “We are prima fucking ballerinas,” one boasts.

Despite the constant mayhem, Pretty Lethal brings little that’s new to the dance floor. Even though the idea of young women kicking ass in blood-spattered tutus and razor-spiked toe shoes is fresh and exciting at its core, the addition of balletic leaps and kicks to the fight choreography is really the only wholly original element. No matter how well-executed their moves, it is nevertheless difficult to believe that five young women trained only in the rigors of ballet could actually decimate a horde of professional gangsters and thugs.

Following the SXSW world premiere at the Paramount Theatre, the cast, director, and screenwriter took the stage to extol the unparalleled experience of working with this group of women. Action-film superstar Thurman reflected on how Pretty Lethal is finally the women-dominant action film she has always desired to be part of throughout the course of her 40 years in the business.

Pretty Lethal premieres on Amazon Prime Video on March 25.

Pretty Lethal Headliner, World Premiere Monday 16, 11am, Paramount Theatre Find more of The Austin Chronicle’s continuing coverage of SXSW.

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