Red Joan
2018, Crime/Mystery and thriller, 1h 50m
151 Reviews 100+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
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. Read critic reviews
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Cast & Crew
Joan
Young Joan
Leo
Sonya
Detective Hughes
Patrick Adams
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Critic Reviews for Red Joan
All Critics (151) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (106)
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Every plot point and every character insight gets delivered with the same manufactured smoothness; the movie is naggingly bland in the way one associates with "respectable" British cinema.
March 10, 2020 | Full Review… -
In technical terms, it's a proficiently made film by the evergreen Trevor Nunn -- or it would be if it were not so determined to embrace all the cliches of the moment, both about British spies and films for women.
June 6, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review… -
This period drama is stuffy and slow, told in a clumsy way to justify Dench's casting and presence, and is still a waste of her time.
May 3, 2019 | Rating: C- | Full Review… -
Although the story sounds fascinating - subterfuge! centrifuge! pinkos! - the film is cold fusion.
May 2, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review… -
Red Joan stands for nothing, and it's all the duller for failing to find even the slightest spike in this tale of duplicity.
May 2, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… -
Dench, in her limited screen time, gives us tantalizing hints of who this weary-looking woman, slumped by the weight of secrets, might be.
May 1, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Red Joan
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May 12, 2019Red Joan is inspired by a true story of an elderly British woman being outed in the 1980s for being a spy for the Russians and passing along British nuclear secrets. If the real story were as boring as what appears onscreen, I doubt anyone would care. Judi Dench plays the older Joan dealing with the public reckoning decades in the making and Sophie Cookson (Kingsmen) plays the young college grad in the 1940s who lands a top nuclear physicists job with the government and alongside a married man she falls for. Some friends who might not really be her friends snooker Joan into becoming a spy, and her rationale is that the world will be a safer place if other countries have the bomb other than simply America. Older Joan says history has proven her right and she takes partial credit for helping to ensure peace. First off, this logic seems faulty. If something is dangerous, I don't know if it's less dangerous if more people/countries have it (see: the firearm industry). Secondly, there were numerous incidents that almost brought the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to mutually assured self-destruction including the Cuban Missile Crisis. The biggest problem with Red Joan is how shockingly boring it all is. A young woman pulled into espionage and treason, having to maintain her secrets while they eat away at her and she betrays her colleagues and loved ones, that's the stuff of complex human drama, or at least it should be if the storytelling knows what it's doing. The movie never seems to treat what she's doing with great stakes. Here's an example of how rushed and under developed the story can be: scene 1) Joan learns her co-worker doesn't have a great marriage; scene 2) they complete a crossword together and he nudges closer; scene 3) they kiss and he declares his love for her. This sequence of events is portrayed during a travel montage or all things. The characters are so underwritten and their compromises and conflicts rarely feel real because of moments like this. The acting is generally good all around and I wish Cookson would get a starring vehicle worthy of her talents. The biggest mystery for me with Red Joan is that the story depicted onscreen is made up, diverging from the real events, so why didn't they tell a better story with their freedom? Nate's Grade: CNate Z Super Reviewer
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Nov 16, 2018This story had the potential to be a sharp historical account of the development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s, if it had focused on interesting science, politics and espionage. The scenes with present-day Joan and her son deliver most of its substance and the key facts. The young Joan was inventing the bomb, a member of a secret wartime team of scientists, and she was also a Russian spy. However, the film treats her less as a cool head, and more as a slave to romance. Compare The Imitation Game - in this film, we needed greater details of 'the quickest mind in atomic physics'; and how she operated. Just as in life she was apparently treated as though she were invisible, or the tea lady, so the film skates over her importance. Even then, the romances are patchy, the sex scenes embarrassing. The other Russian spies are exceptionally beautiful, charismatic and glamorous; who would not have picked them out? Logical threads get fuzzy, the screenplay and editing jump around, with key plot devices introduced towards the end. People looking for a period piece will enjoy the lavishly produced English scenes, cars and clothing, plus hairstyles. People who want an insight into the events will get some. To understand Joan herself, you have to wade through all the padding, while it's the scenes with Dench that deliver the essence of the story.. . Super Reviewer
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