Red Joan

Last updated

Red Joan
Red Joan poster.jpg
UK Theatrical release poster
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Written byLindsay Shapero
Produced by David Parfitt
Starring
CinematographyZac Nicholson
Edited byKristina Hetherington
Music by George Fenton
Production
companies
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release dates
  • 7 September 2018 (2018-09-07)(TIFF)
  • 19 April 2019 (2019-04-19)(United Kingdom)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$9.8 million [1] [2]

Red Joan is a 2018 British spy drama film, directed by Trevor Nunn, from a screenplay by Lindsay Shapero. The film stars Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes, Ben Miles, Nina Sosanya, Tereza Srbova, and Judi Dench.

Contents

The film is based on a novel of the same name written by Jennie Rooney, which was itself inspired by the life of Melita Norwood. [3] Norwood worked at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association as a secretary and supplied the Soviet Union with nuclear secrets. [4] The information that Norwood betrayed to the Soviets hastened the pace at which they developed nuclear bomb technology. [5]

Red Joan had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2018 and was released on 19 April 2019, by Lionsgate in the United Kingdom.

Plot

The young Joan Smith is studying physics at Cambridge University. She becomes involved with Socialists and radical politics through her friends, Sonya and Leo Galich, German Jews. [6] Sonya and Leo Galich are cousins, but the former grew up with the latter after she was orphaned and their relationship is more like that of a brother and a sister. Through Sonya, Smith meets and falls in love with the intense intellectual, Leo.

Joan is recruited to work for the wartime Tube Alloys project to build an atomic bomb for Britain and meets the scientist, Max. Leo tries to recruit Joan to spy for the Soviet Union, but she rejects his appeal and ends her relationship with him, accusing him of using her. Joan falls in love with Max, but their relationship ends when Max tells her that he wants Joan as his wife, not his mistress, but that Britain's divorce laws prevent him from getting a divorce because his wife will not agree to it. In 1945, Joan is appalled by the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is frightened when it is suggested that Britain should develop its own atomic bombs for possible use against the Soviet Union. Joan contacts the Galiches to provide information about the British nuclear programme to the Soviet Union.

In an atmosphere of Cold War suspicion and paranoia, Joan finds her work increasingly difficult. After she again accuses Leo of using her, he dies, apparently a suicide, although it is later suggested he was murdered. Sonya flees Britain and Joan learns that Sonya's child was Leo's. The revelation of this relationship between the Galiches adds to Joan's sense of betrayal, and she returns to Max. After the Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb in 1949, Max is arrested by Scotland Yard and is charged with espionage for the Soviets. Joan visits Max in prison where he informs her that his wife has now agreed to a divorce. Joan in turn tearfully confesses to Max that she provided the intelligence that led to his being charged, but he forgives her. Joan blackmails Sir William Mitchell, a high-ranking diplomat who is a Soviet spy, to help Max. As a result, Max is released from prison. Joan and Max go to Australia but return to Britain at some point.

In 2000, Joan is arrested and charged with espionage. She is interrogated by two detectives from Scotland Yard, whom she accuses of misunderstanding her life, but gradually concedes that she had provided information to the Soviets. The tabloid press vilifies her as a traitor, calling her "Red Joan". Her lawyer son, Nick Stanley, first agrees to defend her but then disavows her when he learns that she had provided intelligence to the Soviet Union. Finally, Joan convinces him that her actions were motivated only by the desire to stop nuclear weapons being used again. He agrees to defend her and stands by her as she faces the tabloid journalists outside her home.

Cast

Production

The film stars Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson, and is directed by Trevor Nunn. [3] David Parfitt is the producer, and the screenplay is by Lindsay Shapero. [7]

Release

The film had its world première at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2018. [8] Shortly after, IFC Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. [9] It was released in the United States and in the United Kingdom on 19 April 2019. [10] [11]

Box office

Red Joan grossed $1.6 million in the United States and Canada and $8.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $9.8 million. [1] [2]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 30%, based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "A fascinating real-life story dramatized in perplexingly dull fashion, Red Joan wastes its tale's incredible intrigue – as well as the formidable talents of Judi Dench." [12] Metacritic reports a normalized score of 45 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [13] A review in The Guardian said that the film "can't disguise its mediocrity", [14] and that the film "squanders its greatest acting asset". [15] A critic in The Telegraph agreed that "Judi Dench is wasted in this absurd portrayal..." [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Red Joan (2018)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Red Joan (2018)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 Grater, Tom (7 September 2017). "Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson to star in Trevor Nunn's 'Red Joan' (exclusive)". Screendaily. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "'Red Joan' explores real-life spy's recruitment, life and dilemma". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  5. ↑ LaSalle, Mick (22 April 2019). "Review: Judi Dench shows range in 'Red Joan,' portraying a complete idiot". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  6. ↑ Catsoulis, Jeannette (18 April 2019). "'Red Joan' Review: I Spy, Reluctantly". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "AFM: Judi Dench's 'Red Joan' Biopic Sells Internationally (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Toronto: Timothee Chalamet Starrer 'Beautiful Boy,' Dan Fogelman's 'Life Itself' Among Festival Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  9. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (14 September 2018). "Judi Dench's Spy Thriller 'Red Joan' Lands at IFC Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  10. ↑ Billington, Alex (16 January 2019). "Sophie Cookson & Judi Dench in First Trailer for Spy Drama 'Red Joan'". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Red Joan". IFC Films . Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "Red Joan (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. ↑ "Red Joan Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  14. ↑ Hutchinson, Pamela (12 September 2018). "Red Joan review – Judi Dench's 'granny spy' brings OAP to the KGB". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  15. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (17 April 2019). "Red Joan review – Judi Dench underused in brittle defector drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  16. ↑ Collin, Robbie (18 April 2019). "Red Joan, review: Judi Dench is wasted in this absurd portrayal of the Bolshevik of Bexleyheath" . The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
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