Red Joan: Judi Dench Leads a Spy Drama That Deserves a Place on Your Watchlist
A quiet suburban pensioner. A knock at the door. Then a shocking accusation of espionage.
That is how Red Joan begins, turning the image of an unassuming elderly woman into the starting point for a story involving political intrigue, nuclear secrets, romance and decades of carefully guarded secrets.
Released in 2018 and directed by Trevor Nunn, the film stars Dame Judi Dench as Joan Elizabeth Stanley, a woman whose apparently ordinary retirement is shattered when the police arrive to question her over alleged links to the KGB.
For viewers who enjoy the more character-driven side of British espionage, particularly stories such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Smiley’s People and Slow Horses, Red Joan offers something considerably more understated. The film moves between Joan’s quiet life in 2000 and the events that shaped her as a young woman during the 1930s and 1940s.
Nunn’s involvement also gives the film plenty of theatrical pedigree. The director previously worked with Judi Dench and Ian McKellen on Macbeth, making Red Joan a particularly attractive proposition for viewers who appreciate strong British acting talent.
What is Red Joan about?
At the centre of the story is Joan Elizabeth Stanley, played by Judi Dench in her later years.
Joan appears to be an ordinary elderly woman living quietly in a suburban terrace. That changes when she is suddenly taken in for questioning and accused of spying for Russia during her youth.
The allegations relate to classified information concerning Britain’s atomic bomb programme, which Joan is accused of passing to the KGB.
Her son Nick, a lawyer, initially struggles to believe that his mother could have been involved in espionage. As details of her past begin to emerge, however, he is forced to confront a side of Joan he never knew existed.
The film then takes audiences back to Joan’s younger years, with Sophie Cookson playing the younger version of the character. Cookson is known for her role in the Kingsman series and for playing Christine Keeler in the BBC drama The Trial of Christine Keeler.
The story begins during Joan’s time at Cambridge University, where she studies physics and becomes involved with Leo Galich, played by Tom Hughes. Leo is a communist student who introduces Joan to a political world far removed from the life she had previously known.
When Joan becomes involved in secret work connected to the development of an atomic bomb, Leo attempts to persuade her to pass information to the Russians.
But Joan’s loyalties become increasingly complicated. During her work on the project, she develops feelings for Professor Max Davis, played by Stephen Campbell Moore. She is consequently caught between two relationships while also witnessing the devastating consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Those experiences force Joan to make a decision that will follow her for decades.
The film ultimately asks viewers to consider where the line falls between patriotism, political conviction, personal loyalty and the desire to prevent another devastating conflict.
The character is fictional, but the story was inspired by the real-life case of Melita Norwood, a British woman who was exposed as a Soviet spy in the late 1990s.
Dench described Joan to The i Paper as “an amazingly ordinary person who does, in my eyes, a very extraordinary thing.”
Judi Dench takes centre stage
Although Red Joan spans several decades, Judi Dench’s presence gives the modern-day sections much of their weight.
Joan is very different from the commanding characters Dench has played elsewhere. Rather than an imposing figure, she is presented as an elderly woman whose quiet, self-effacing manner makes the accusations against her all the more startling.
Her performance relies heavily on restraint. Joan rarely gives everything away, allowing small expressions and reactions to suggest that there is considerably more beneath her apparently ordinary exterior.
That understated approach is part of what makes her younger life so intriguing. As Cookson’s Joan becomes increasingly involved in politics, science and espionage, the contrast between the young woman and the elderly pensioner becomes central to the film.
The result is a character whose past has remained hidden in plain sight for much of her life.
The cast of Red Joan
The film brings together a strong ensemble of familiar British television and film performers.
- Dame Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal) as Joan Elizabeth Stanley
- Sophie Cookson (The Trial of Christine Keeler) as young Joan
- Tom Hughes (Victoria) as Leo Galich
- Stephen Campbell Moore (Masters of the Air) as Professor Max Davis
- Ben Miles (Douglas Is Cancelled) as Nick Stanley, Joan’s son
- Nina Sosanya (Teachers) as Ms Hart
- Tereza Srbova (St Trinian’s) as Sonya
- Stephen Boxer (Sister Boniface Mysteries) as Peter Kierl
The combination of Dench and Cookson is particularly important to the film, as the two actresses portray different stages of the same woman’s life.
A period drama as much as a spy story
One of Red Joan‘s other attractions is its period setting.
The film moves from the year 2000 back into Joan’s university days in the 1930s and her wartime experiences in the 1940s. That makes it a natural choice for viewers who enjoy Judi Dench in period productions such as Mrs Henderson Presents and Tea With Mussolini.
The historical backdrop also gives the story more than a conventional espionage angle. Joan’s decisions are shaped by the political tensions of the era, the development of nuclear weapons and the devastation of the Second World War.
The film therefore spends considerable time exploring the ideas and relationships behind Joan’s actions rather than relying solely on conventional spy-thriller suspense.
Where can you watch Red Joan?
Red Joan is available to rent and watch on Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and Sky Store.
If you’re specifically looking for a Judi Dench performance with a very different tone from her more commanding roles, this is an interesting choice. Her Joan is deliberately quiet and difficult to read, with the character’s complicated history gradually revealed through the film’s flashbacks.
What other Judi Dench films and dramas are worth watching?
If Red Joan leaves you wanting more Judi Dench, there are several very different directions to take.
In Notes on a Scandal, Dench plays a lonely and manipulative schoolteacher who becomes obsessed with a colleague. It is a darker role and a sharp departure from the gentler side of her period dramas. The film is available to rent through Apple TV and Prime Video.
For something warmer and more traditional, Cranford is another option. Based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel, the period drama follows life in a small English village during the 1850s.
Together, these roles show just how broad Dench’s range can be, from unsettling psychological drama to comforting period storytelling and, in Red Joan, an elderly woman whose quiet life conceals a remarkable and controversial past.