Red Joan is the story of a British woman by the name of Joan Stanley (Judi Dench) who, in her latter years of life, is accused of being a spy for Russia. Did she or did she not share nuclear secrets with the superpower to the West? In order to understand the entire big picture, you will need to travel back to the much younger days of Joan (Sophie Cookson) when she was naive to the ways the world worked. Battling romantic demons as well as living in a time where distrust was at an all-time high due to the constant threat of war, Joan must learn to grow up quickly if she’s to navigate the increasingly complex world of discovery and deception that she has gotten herself into. The truth will eventually come out…decades later.

Although the pace is exactly where you’d expect it to be for this type of biopic, Red Joan gives audiences a story that is actually interesting. Judi Dench gives a solid performance as usual, with Sophie Cookson more than holding own. Both bring much needed emotional energy to their shared character. The story is not on a Hidden Figures (2016) level, but it does accentuate once again the roll women have played in important historical times and how they’ve been all but overlooked and/or forgotten.

Red Joan was inspired by the story Melita Norwood, so while the name is different, its story in spirit is the same. Again, there’s nothing groundbreaking about this movie but it’s better than some of the other more mainstream. If you’re looking for an offering that is solidly acted and consists of a story that proves to be interesting, I spy a little something for you. Still though, the slowness and uneventful nature of larger chunks if this film may be off-putting. You can judge it for yourself in select theaters today.