Judi Dench Plays an Elderly Widow Giving Intelligence to the Russians in New Clip from Red Joan
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, “I’m not a traitor!”
“I wanted everyone to share the same knowledge… because only that way could the horror of another world war be averted,” she explained. “I think if you look back at history, you’ll see I was right.”
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Red Joan is based on the novel of the same name written by Jennie Rooney. The book was based on the life of Melita Norwood, a British citizen who worked as a KGB intelligence source for about 40 years.
Rounding out the cast is Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen, Olivia Buckland and Stephen Boxer.
Red Joan is in theaters and On Demand on April 19.
