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]
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.
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 aggregatorRotten 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]
