Sweet Girl (film)

Sweet Girl (film)
Sweet Girl is a 2021 American action thriller film directed by Brian Andrew Mendoza in his feature directorial debut and written by Philip Eisner and Gregg Hurwitz. The film stars Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Adria Arjona, Raza Jaffrey, Justin Bartha, Lex Scott Davis, Michael Raymond-James and Amy Brenneman.
Sweet Girl was released on Netflix on August 20, 2021, and received negative reviews from critics for its clichéd story and wasted potential, but its stunts were positively noted.
Netflix announced in October 2021 that 68 million accounts had watched at least 2-minutes of the film within 28 days of release.
Plot
The Cooper family live in Pittsburgh and are happy and content together. However, things go downhill when Amanda Cooper falls ill with cancer. Her husband, survival expert Ray, is told that a potentially life-saving drug for Amanda was pulled off the market due to BioPrime CEO Simon Keeley paying the manufacturer to delay production. Amanda passes away, devastating Ray and their daughter, Rachel.
Six months later, Ray receives a call from journalist Martin Bennett, who tells him that he has evidence of criminal activity committed by BioPrime. They meet on a subway, followed by Rachel and a hitman named Santos. Bennett explains that BioPrime has been bribing anyone who questions their dirty deeds, but before he can share more, Santos stabs him dead, then stabs Ray and knocks out Rachel, leaving them both on the platform to die.
Two years later, Ray has been obsessively tracking Keeley's movements. He infiltrates BioPrime's charity auction for Keeley, who tells him to go after BioPrime's chairman, Vinod Shah. In the brutal fight, Ray kills a bodyguard and strangles Keeley to death. Having killed two men, he quickly flees with Rachel and they hide in a motel outside of town. Rachel, concerned that her father has gone too far, contacts FBI Agent Sarah Meeker and tries to convince her to look into BioPrime. Two mercenaries break into the motel to capture them; Ray kills them both. He then goes after Shah but Santos appears and shoots Shah dead, causing Ray and Rachel to flee.
The pair meets Santos in a diner, where Santos admits that he is sympathetic to Ray's cause. He reveals that Congresswoman Diana Morgan is his employer, giving Ray a lead, but warns that the next time they meet, he will kill them.
Returning to the city, Ray is ambushed by the FBI and flees to the roof of PNC Park. As Meeker tries to talk him down, it's revealed that "Ray" is actually Rachel. Ray had died from his wounds at the subway two years ago. Rachel, suffering from PTSD and dissociative identity disorder, devoted herself to finishing his quest for vengeance, broken after losing both her parents months apart. Presently, she jumps into the Allegheny River but is retrieved and put in an ambulance. After breaking free, she locates Morgan's campaign office, where Santos attacks her. After another brutal fight, she manages to stab Santos to death.
She confronts Morgan and secretly records her admitting she was bribed by BioPrime for government contracts and had ordered the hit on Bennett and Ray. Rachel flees and sends the recording to the FBI. In the aftermath, Morgan is arrested for her crimes, while Rachel obtains a fake passport, exchanges her money for cryptocurrency, and boards a plane to an uncertain future.
Cast
Jason Momoa as Ray Cooper
Isabela Merced as Rachel Cooper
Milena Rivero as young Rachel Cooper
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Amos Santos
Amy Brenneman as Diana Morgan
Adria Arjona as Amanda Cooper
Justin Bartha as Simon Keeley
Raza Jaffrey as Vinod Shah
Lex Scott Davis as FBI Agent Sarah Meeker
Michael Raymond-James as FBI Agent John Rothman
Dominic Fumusa as Sam Walker
Nelson Franklin as Martin Bennett
Will Blagrove as Detective Alvarez
Katy O'Brian as TV Host
Brian Howe as Pete Micelli
Reggie Lee as Dr. Wu
Production
In July 2019, it was announced Jason Momoa had joined the cast of the film, with Brian Andrew Mendoza directing from a screenplay by Philip Eisner, Gregg Hurwitz and Will Staples, Momoa will also serve as a producer on the film, with Netflix distributing. In October 2019, Isabela Merced joined the cast of the film. In December 2019, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Raza Jaffrey, Adria Arjona, Justin Bartha, Lex Scott Davis, Michael Raymond-James, Dominic Fumusa, Brian Howe, Nelson Franklin, and Reggie Lee joined the cast of the film.
Principal photography commenced on November 11, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and wrapped on February 11, 2020.
Release
It was released on August 20, 2021 on Netflix.
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 24% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Burdened with action clichés and tripped up by a late plot twist, Sweet Girl wastes a potentially resonant story and some solid work from its well-matched leads." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
References
External links
2021 action thriller films
2021 directorial debut films
2021 films
2020s English-language films
American films about revenge
American action thriller films
Films about dissociative identity disorder
English-language Netflix original films
Films about father–daughter relationships
Films about cancer
Films scored by Steven Price
Films set in Pittsburgh
Films shot in Pittsburgh
2020s American films