Red Joan

Nuclear weapons are at the heart of Joan's spying; viewers hear their power discussed, see news footage of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings, with brief visuals of people injured by the radiation. One character slaps another during an emotional conversation. A character is given a poison amulet; it's implied that she should use it to kill herself if she's caught. A character discovers a loved one hanging by his neck, dead. She assumes he's died by suicide but learns later that he may have been murdered. Viewers see his blank, dead face, his body hanging in silhouette.

Characters kiss passionately before falling into bed or dashing behind closed doors; in one scene, characters have sex with motions and moaning -- a man is shown shirtless, and then the characters are seemingly nude in bed together (no graphic nudity). Illicit and extramarital affairs play a part in the story.

Language is infrequent but includes "damn," "hell."

Many characters smoke; adults go to bars and drink at dinners and parties, but no one acts drunk.

Parents need to know that Red Joan is a fact-based drama about an elderly British woman (Judi Dench) who's arrested for spying for the KGB during World War II. The development of the atomic bomb is at the center of the story; characters discuss what the power to make such a bomb means, and one watches news footage about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (images of cities in ruins and pale, hairless people suffering radiation poisoning). There are also many scenes that deal with suicide, including one in which one character finds another hanging by his neck: His body is seen in silhouette, and the camera lingers on his dead face. Language is infrequent and mild ("damn," "hell"), and sexuality is muted: Most sex is represented by kissing and the removal of a layer of clothing. In one scene, a couple has sex -- with motions and movement -- but viewers only see the man's bare chest and then the couple in bed, seemingly nude. A photo shows two men kissing. Many characters smoke (accurate for the era); they also drink at dinner or in pubs, but no one acts drunk. A strong, principled woman is the main character, but viewers may disagree with her principles as well as her actions. Nonetheless, themes of compassion and courage are clear, and, for many, Joan will be a role model despite her (unpopular in democratic countries) political leanings.

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