X
  • 2023
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 41 m
  • 2023
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 41 m

Summary A Compassionate Spy is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Rober...

Directed By: Steve James

  • 2023
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 41 m
  • 2023
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 41 m

A Compassionate Spy

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews
72
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary A Compassionate Spy is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Rober...

Directed By: Steve James

Where to Watch

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews
72
90% Positive
18 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews
72
90% Positive
18 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Mar 22, 2023
James’s sleek telling excels at intertwining the personal and the political with illuminating detail.
By Phil Hoad FULL REVIEW
80
Aug 4, 2023
This absorbing, thoughtful film doesn’t take sides; that’s not James’ way.
By Noel Murray FULL REVIEW
80
Sep 9, 2022
It’s worth being reminded by James’s layered, grippingly told account of a principled betrayal that when it comes to the biggest threats facing the globe, sometimes one person in the right circumstance can make a difference.
By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW
75
Aug 3, 2023
The film leaves no doubt Ted Hall was a brilliant man, and that he and Joan had a beautiful marriage. His legacy beyond that remains a subject of intense debate.
By Richard Roeper FULL REVIEW
70
Aug 3, 2023
The general impression given by this warm, low-key film is that the spying was a simple act of pacifism. Countervailing voices are faint and few; anyone seeking more vigorous pushback will have to look elsewhere.
By Jeannette Catsoulis FULL REVIEW
63
Aug 1, 2023
A Compassionate Spy is less a full companion piece to “Oppenheimer” than an intriguing sidebar.
By Michael O'Sullivan FULL REVIEW
55
Aug 4, 2023
A Compassionate Spy takes a far more rose-tinted, one-note view of Hall—a tack that requires skirting past major conflicting particulars and eschewing the very uncertainty that Hall himself exhibits in numerous archival interviews.
By Nick Schager FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Kartemquin Films, Mitten Media, Participant
Release Date Aug 4, 2023
Duration 1 h 41 m
Genres
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Awards

Sofia International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
It's All True - International Documentary Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Americana Film Fest
• 1 Nomination

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