By all accounts, Dame Judi Dench seems to be an upstanding member of society. Of course, she’s also an acting legend and one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood. But in the new film “Red Joan,” she plays a woman that is being accused of being a communist spy, and it’s a role that you probably wouldn’t expect the lovely Dench to play.
READ MORE: Judi Dench Briefly Enlivens The Dreary Spy-Jinks Of ‘Red Joan’ [San Sebastian Review]
In the first trailer for the film, we meet Joan Stanley, an older lady with a family and a humble life in the UK. However, that life gets thrown into chaos when she’s suddenly arrested by the authorities and being questioned about her college days during the late-’30s and early-’40s. You see, Joan is being accused of being friendly with some communist spies back during her college years and may or may not have contributed to Russia learning information about military weapons. But it’s Dame Judi Dench and she’d never do such a thing…right?
Judi Dench is joined by Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, and Tom Hughes in the cast of the film. “Red Joan” is written by Lindsay Shapero, who previously has worked on documentaries and the film “The Head Hunter,” and is directed by Trevor Nunn, who is probably best known for his work on various TV specials and TV films.
“Red Joan” is scheduled to hit cinemas in the UK on April 19, but no US release has been confirmed.
Here’s the film’s synopsis:
The year is 2000 and Joan Stanley is living in contented retirement in suburbia at the turn of the millennium. Her tranquil life is suddenly disrupted when she’s arrested by MI5 and accused of providing intelligence to Communist Russia. Cut to 1938 where Joan is a Cambridge physics student who falls for young communist Leo Galich and through him, begins to see the world in a new light. Working at a top-secret nuclear research facility during WWII, Joan comes to the realization that the world is on the brink of mutually assured destruction. Confronted with an impossible question – what price would you pay for peace? – Joan must choose between betraying her country and loved ones or saving them.