This is one thought-provoking movie. It is based, perhaps loosely, on the exploits of Melita Norwood, a British civil servant who successfully passed secrets about Britain’s atomic bomb program to the Russians during the 1940s and ’50s, but only exposed in the ’90s. On the surface, this movie might appear to be an indictment of a national traitor — yet the film deftly explores how a scientist was persuaded to place more value on the ideal of continuing international peace rather than national interests. It is up to the viewers, of course, to make up our own minds about it.

Trevor Nunn’s film casts Judi Dench as Joan Stanley, the fictionalized version of Norwood, who in her eighties finds herself suddenly exposed to the world as a traitor. Flashbacks reveal how young Joan (Sophie Cookson) is befriended and recruited by a Russian brother and sister (Tom Hughes, Tereza Srbova) while eventually becoming assistant to an important physicist (Stephen Campbell Moore), whose feelings for Joan are sorely tested when the truth about what she is doing finally emerges.

Everything about loyalty and family secrets is gradually explored in this complex story. For me its ultimate power rests with Joan’s grown son Nick (Ben Miles), who is completely gobsmacked by his mother’s actions and secrecy. Nick is confronted with the choice of abandoning his mother to possible prosecution and public shame, or supporting her even though he abhors her actions. His final decision provides a welcome perspective for a story that has many ramifications.

Because of the film’s flashback structure, suspense is not of paramount importance, which causes the middle section to drag a bit. The film also refuses to sensationalize its subject. It plays better as an historical drama than a thriller. Still, it highlights a largely unknown story (I was utterly unaware of it) and prompts viewers to make of it what they will — and what they might do if they suddenly discovered their mother had personally ensured that the prospects for international atomic war were dramatically lessened. ☆ ☆ ☆. 23 July 2019.