Fresh off its world premiere at SXSW and produced by 87 North (The Fall Guy, Bullet Train), director Vicky Jewson and writer Kate Freund comprise this action tale of five ballerinas who are on their way to a showcase, only to have their bus break down at a remote inn, where they must use their dance skills to survive.
At a dance academy rehearsal, Bones (Maddie Ziegler) arrives late, to the dismay of Princess (Lana Condor), who chastises her and is also envious because Bones has a solo in their routine. The troupe then lands in Hungary for the International Ballet Gala in Budapest, when their bus breaks down. In the rain, they make their way to the Teremok Inn. Inside, they find the place decorated in a pink motif inspired by The Nutcracker ballet, in addition to an homage featuring younger pictures of the owner, Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman), who was once a ballerina herself.
The ladies are shown hospitality by the people at the inn and Devora herself. They even offer to dry their wet clothes, which leaves them wearing their ballerina costumes while they wait, since it’s the only thing left dry.
“…five ballerinas…have their bus break down at a remote inn, where they must use their dance skills to survive.”
Miss Thorna (Lydia Leonard), their teacher, while escorting Chloe (Millicent Simmonds) to the restroom, comes across Devora in another room torturing someone. In a panic, she runs back to the girls, where she encounters Pasha (Tamás Szabó Sipos), who shoots her. The four remaining girls are now witnesses to a murder and are taken to a safe room and tied up. It’s now up to Bones to lead Princess, Grace (Avantika), and Zoe (Iris Apatow) to find Chloe, who is missing, and battle their way out of the inn.
The idea of innocent ballerinas who are badasses isn’t new, as we’ve seen in Abigail and Ballerina. While Abigail featured an actual vampire, and in Ballerina, Ana de Armas plays a trained assassin, these ballerinas are just regular girls. What makes the film clever is seeing them use their pirouettes and other choreography to defend themselves. There is some humor here, but there are only so many moves that are actually applicable, and the joke wears thin. It is also a bit cheesy that the girls end up in their ballerina costumes, and you can take that for what it’s worth.
Of course, the fight choreography stays somewhat realistic and isn’t always pristine—it’s sloppy at times, which makes it believable for girls just trying to survive a group of seedy characters. A plus is that the actresses who are cast have their own distinct voices and character personalities. One of the highlights is Avantika and what her character Chloe experiences after being given laced candy.
The film is overall fine, especially for premiering at a festival and then going straight to streaming, but it is definitely not a theatrical release. The drawback here is that, although it doesn’t need a deep story, it feels like only two and a half acts, with an abrupt third act. The actual running time before credits is only an hour and 21 minutes—not even the standard 90. You could easily watch while scrolling and still get the gist of everything that’s going on, while looking up to enjoy the action scenes.
"…the joke wears thin."
