Cillian Murphy and Helen Mirren Set the Screen Ablaze in Luc Besson’s “ANNA” — The Stylish, Scandalous Spy Thriller That Twists, Seduces, and Shocks Until Its Final Breath
In a world where loyalty is a weapon and seduction is survival, ANNA returns to screens tonight — and it’s ready to remind audiences why no one stages danger and desire quite like Luc Besson. The 2019 spy thriller, starring Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren, and Sasha Luss, was dismissed by critics upon its release — but in recent years, it’s become a cult favorite among fans of high-gloss espionage cinema. And as it airs tonight at 9 p.m. on Film4 before streaming on Channel 4, this tale of double lives, deadly secrets, and deceptive beauty feels more thrilling than ever.
A Double Life Draped in Silk and Blood
At first glance, Anna Poliatova (played by Russian supermodel-turned-actress Sasha Luss) seems to have it all: beauty, allure, and the glamour of the Paris fashion world at her feet. But behind the glimmering catwalks and glossy magazine covers lies a secret as dangerous as it is intoxicating. Anna is not just a model — she’s a trained KGB assassin, a weapon forged from elegance and ruthlessness.
When the CIA discovers her double life, Anna is forced into an impossible choice: betray her homeland or die trying. Caught between two worlds — one of couture and one of covert operations — she begins to turn her intelligence, sexuality, and cunning into her only means of survival.
The result is a tense, seductive chess match between spies, lovers, and liars, anchored by performances that pulse with icy sophistication. Cillian Murphy plays Leonard Miller, the sharp, morally conflicted CIA agent who suspects Anna’s every move. Helen Mirren, meanwhile, delivers one of her most commanding late-career performances as Olga, the steel-hearted KGB handler who molded Anna into both a masterpiece and a monster.
A Spy Thriller That’s Both Weapon and Warning
Written and directed by Luc Besson, ANNA is a spiritual descendant of the filmmaker’s earlier heroines — La Femme Nikita (1990) and Lucy (2014) — but older, darker, and more cynical. Where Lucy leaned into science fiction, ANNA stays grounded in the murky realities of espionage and human exploitation.
The film unfolds like a series of Russian nesting dolls, each twist concealing another layer of deceit. Besson structures the story non-linearly, jumping back and forth through time with surgical precision, revealing how every seduction, every betrayal, and every act of violence fits into Anna’s intricate plan for freedom.
It’s a narrative sleight of hand that mirrors Anna herself — a woman who’s never quite what she seems.
Critical Misfire or Misunderstood Gem?
Upon its 2019 release, ANNA received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. With a 34% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, publications like IndieWire and The Guardian criticized its repetitive gunplay and formulaic structure. The Globe and Mail called it “uncompelling,” while others accused Besson of recycling his own tropes without innovation.
Yet, as is often the case with Besson’s work, time has been kinder than the critics. Audiences embraced the film’s sleek visuals, fierce female lead, and unapologetic sense of style. On IMDb, it now holds a 6.7/10 rating from over 105,000 users, and fan reviews tell a different story.
“Spectacular and groundbreaking assassin flick with lots of action, crossfire, fights, violence, and plot twists,” one viewer wrote. Another noted: “Never quite sure what’s next or where it’s going, but the ride’s good — especially the four leads.”
There’s a reason ANNA continues to resurface on streaming platforms and late-night movie schedules: it’s an intoxicating mix of pulp and prestige, where every shot looks like it belongs in a Vogue spread and every kill feels like choreography.
Besson’s Signature: Beauty as a Weapon
Few directors capture violence and femininity with Besson’s visual language. In ANNA, the camera is both an accomplice and a witness — seduced by its protagonist even as it watches her destroy everything in her path.
The film’s most talked-about sequence remains the restaurant massacre: an extended, balletic action set-piece that turns an elegant lunch into a blood-soaked ballet. It’s not realism Besson is after — it’s rhythm. Every gunshot is a beat, every movement a pirouette.
And yet, beneath the gloss, there’s genuine commentary on control — how beauty becomes a weapon, and how power is traded like currency. Anna’s life, built on manipulation and exploitation, becomes a metaphor for every woman forced to perform strength in a world that punishes vulnerability.
Helen Mirren and Cillian Murphy: Masters of Ice and Fire
While Sasha Luss carries the film with a hypnotic blend of fragility and ferocity, it’s her co-stars who give ANNA its dramatic backbone.
Cillian Murphy, ever the chameleon, brings a haunted intensity to Leonard Miller. His chemistry with Luss burns slow — equal parts attraction and suspicion — and their scenes together hum with dangerous tension. Murphy’s signature quietness becomes a weapon of its own, a constant question mark hanging in the air: is he protector or predator?
Then there’s Helen Mirren, who devours every scene she’s in. As Olga, the cold, chain-smoking KGB handler, she exudes a terrifying calm — a mother figure sculpted from ice and iron. Her scenes with Anna are among the film’s best, oscillating between mentorship, manipulation, and psychological warfare.
In a film full of betrayals, Olga’s love-hate relationship with her protégé might be the most fascinating twist of all.
Aesthetic Overload, Emotional Undercurrent
What makes ANNA endure is not its plot — familiar as it may be — but its mood. The film exists in a world where fashion meets firearms, where beauty and brutality blur until you can’t tell them apart. The Paris runways, the Moscow safe houses, the dim-lit CIA offices — everything gleams like a secret waiting to be sold.
Yet, buried beneath the stylization is a surprisingly human story: a woman clawing for freedom in a system designed to own her. The question Besson poses — and never quite answers — is simple: Can a weapon ever stop being one?
Reevaluating “ANNA” in 2025
Six years after its lukewarm debut, ANNA feels oddly prophetic. In an era where spy thrillers often feel sterile and politically sanitized, Besson’s film — unapologetically sensual, morally ambiguous, and female-driven — stands out as a defiant relic of the old-school espionage genre.
Its recent resurgence on streaming platforms has sparked renewed appreciation, especially among fans of films like Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow, who see ANNA as a stylish bridge between those worlds.
It’s not flawless — but that’s part of its allure. Like its heroine, ANNA is both beautiful and broken, controlled and chaotic.
The Final Verdict: A Thriller Worth Revisiting
If you missed ANNA the first time around, tonight’s broadcast is your second chance — and it’s worth taking. Forget the critics. Forget the Rotten Tomatoes score. Watch it for the thrill, the danger, the style, and the tension that coils tighter with every scene.
It’s a story about a woman who turns every limitation into leverage — and every betrayal into a weapon.
By the time the final shot fades, one thing is certain: ANNA isn’t just another spy film. It’s a confession, a performance, and a rebellion — all dressed in couture and loaded with bullets.
Catch ANNA tonight at 9 p.m. on Film4, streaming later on Channel 4 — where beauty kills, secrets burn, and no one walks away clean.
