Red Joan
Based on a true story, Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench is a British physicist who led a double life as the longest-serving British spy for the KGB. Inspired by the life of Melita Norwood, Dench plays Joan Stanley, who looks back on a lifetime of espionage intrigue that spanned half a century - from the Second World War to the year 2000.
- Director:
- Trevor Nunn ('Lady Jane', 'Hedda', 'Twelfth Night')
- Writer:
- Lindsay Shapero
- Cast:
- Judi DenchSophie CooksonTom HughesStephen Campbell MooreLaurence SpellmanTereza Srbova
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Sarah Voon
flicksA movie split between dull and adequate timelines
Red Joan is a British period spy drama, based on the real life of Melita Norwood, a KGB spy who was not discovered until she was in her 80's. The film is directed by Trevor Nunn and stars Dame Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson as Joan Stanley (a substitute name for Melita Norwood). The film is non-linear starting at the point that Joan (Dame Judi Dench) is...
Variety
pressA would-be sweeping epic that instead turns out tweedy, dreary, and unconvincing.
The Times
pressDench lends emotional heft and nuance to her handful of scenes, but Red Joan is otherwise let down by leaden dialogue and one-note characters.
The Guardian
pressMost of the fun in Red Joan comes from such overthrown expectations, so it's a shame that the film itself fails to overwhelm - mostly proceeding along dully familiar lines and anything but radical.
Stuff
pressWhat betrays the film is a script that badly needed to be broken down and reassembled into a far leaner and nimbler form than the one presented here.
FilmInk
pressThe film as a whole does have a fascinating story to tell and with this cast (especially Dench, of course) it is brought to the screen with considerable aplomb.
Flicks, Sarah Voon
flicksVariety
pressA would-be sweeping epic that instead turns out tweedy, dreary, and unconvincing.
The Times
pressDench lends emotional heft and nuance to her handful of scenes, but Red Joan is otherwise let down by leaden dialogue and one-note characters.
The Guardian
pressMost of the fun in Red Joan comes from such overthrown expectations, so it's a shame that the film itself fails to overwhelm - mostly proceeding along dully familiar lines and anything but radical.
Stuff
pressWhat betrays the film is a script that badly needed to be broken down and reassembled into a far leaner and nimbler form than the one presented here.
FilmInk
pressThe film as a whole does have a fascinating story to tell and with this cast (especially Dench, of course) it is brought to the screen with considerable aplomb.
A movie split between dull and adequate timelines
Red Joan is a British period spy drama, based on the real life of Melita Norwood, a KGB spy who was not discovered until she was in her 80's. The film is directed by Trevor Nunn and stars Dame Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson as Joan Stanley (a substitute name for Melita Norwood). The film is non-linear starting at the point that Joan (Dame Judi Dench) is...
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