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Stars: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes, Nina Sosanya, Laurence Spellman, Nicola Sloane, Tereza Srbova, Freddie Gaminara, Raj Swamy | Written by Lindsay Shapero | Directed by Trevor Nunn

Red Joan, directed by Trevor Nunn, is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney and is loosely based off the life of Melita Norwood. An elderly British woman who in the early 2000s was outed in secret documents by British Intelligence, alleging that Norwood provided detailed plans to the Ussr communist regime about Britain’s developing secret nuclear program, throughout her time working as a secretary at the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association. Nunn’s film follows the truly bizarre story of a young woman emotionally manipulated and internally conflicted on her political beliefs and the direction her heart wants to take.

It is a shame with what noticeably offbeat material Nunn has at his hands,...

In certain circles (and in scads of UK tabloids), Melita Norwood was known as the “granny spy.” In 1994, the aging former British civil servant was outed as a former Kgb spy who passed nuclear secrets to the Ussr. That came as quite a shock to her family and friends, who were likely only somewhat soothed by the government’s decision not to prosecute her because of her age.

While Trevor Nunn’s “Red Joan” isn’t an exact biographical treatment of Norwood’s story (her Russian code name was Hola), the spy drama pulls generously from both her life and the Jennie Rooney novel inspired by it. The result is a strange, bifurcated tale of love and espionage, with Judi Dench stuck in a thankless role that does nothing to capitalize on her talents. The film is worse for it.

At least Sophie Cookson, who plays the younger version of Joan throughout the film,...

‘Greta’, ’Dragged Across Concrete’ among new titles.

Holdovers look set to dominate the UK box office this weekend, with Trevor Nunn’s spy drama Red Joan amongst the new openers.

Produced by David Parfitt’s Trademark Films, the Lionsgate-distributed feature is led by Judi Dench and 2014 Screen Star of Tomorrow Sophie Cookson, and based on the novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney. Cookson plays Joan Stanley, a Cambridge physics student in 1938 who falls for a young communist; while Dench takes up the character in 2000 when MI5 come to arrest her.

The film will be aiming to top...

Our first shot of Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) in “Red Joan” is inauspicious enough. A librarian in a cozy cardigan, she’s pruning roses outside her small, neatly kept row house in a London suburb. But then there’s a knock at the door. And a charge of treason.

Unfortunately, director Trevor Nunn can’t match the rest of the film to this intriguing open, in part because he loses Dench for so much it.

Nunn — who usually focuses on the stage, alternating between Shakespearean adaptations and splashy productions like “Cats” and “Les Misérables” — does know how to craft a good-looking movie. He just doesn’t seem motivated to make a particularly challenging one. There’s a sense of missed opportunity hovering around the edges of this curious story, which ought to be tense and complex but rarely is.

Also Read: Kenneth Branagh's William Shakespeare Movie 'All Is True...

Red Joan turns an incredible espionage story into a lethargic and boring film. Melita Norwood was a British woman who spied for the Soviet Union during and after World War II. The information she smuggled was directly responsible for the Soviets acquiring the atomic bomb. Red Joan, adapted from the novel by Jennie Rooney, is a fictional account based on Norwood's activities. What should be a riveting thriller is told with a plodding delivery.

Dame Judi Dench stars as the older Joan in modern times. A white-haired, genteel grandmother, she is arrested by the British government for espionage and treason. Her son (Ben Miles) is outraged by the charges. This must be a mistake. His mother spent her life as a librarian. It's only when he sits through her interrogation is the shocking truth revealed.

Sophie Cookson co-stars as the younger Joan. In the mid thirties, she was a reserved student studying physics at Cambridge.

After leaving the James Bond franchise in Skyfall, Judi Dench returns to the spy genre in her new movie Red Joan.

In a People exclusive clip of the thriller, the Oscar winner, 84, portrays the elderly Joan Standley, a widow living in retirement when she is arrested by the British Secret Service.

Suspected of providing classified information — including details on the building of an atomic bomb — to the Soviet government for decades, Joan is interrogated and relives the moments in her life that led her to commit treason.

Facing a group of reporters following her arrest, Joan defends herself by saying,...

Red Joan IFC Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net with a Rotten Tomatoes link by: Harvey Karten Director: Trevor Nunn Screenwriter: Lindsay Shapero based on Jennie Rooney’s novel Cast: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes, Ben Miles, Tereza Srbrova Screened at: Digital Arts, NYC, 3/13/19 Opens: April 19, 2019 Tom Lehrer sang […]

The post Red Joan Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Red Joan presents a brilliant example of the most remarkable story being told in the most unremarkable way.

A great-grandmother in her 80s being arrested by MI5 on the doorstep of her suburban home for treason. Her crimes, some 70 years earlier, being the disclosure of British atomic bomb secrets to the Russian intelligent services. And she nearly got away with it. And it’s based on real events. So, quite a big deal and quite a lot to work with.

Unfortunately, the jeopardy is played out through a nauseating repetition of present-day interrogations and flashbacks to the 1930s. The emotional connection between these flashbacks and the present is disparately flat, lacking any sustainable impact, and feeling formulaic to the point of boredom.

Even our dear-old-Dame Judi Dench is underwhelming here, more as a result of not being given enough to do rather than any dwindling powers of performance.

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