agmtw logo
search
A Compassionate Spy (2022)

A Compassionate Spy (2022)

An uncommonly intimate look at the personal impact of the Manhattan Project, one that avoids oversimplification despite its unabashed partiality

7.5

Movie

United States of America
English, German
Documentary, Drama
2022
STEVE JAMES
Ann Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman
102 min

TLDR

It’s quite a feat Joan Hall pulls off, stealing the thunder in a movie with as fascinating a subject as this.

What it's about

An exploration of the motivations, political impact, and personal legacy of Ted Hall, a young Manhattan Project physicist who leaked nuclear secrets to the USSR.

The take

As its title suggests, Steve James’ documentary isn’t shy about its sympathy for its subject. Physicist Ted Hall was just 18 when he was recruited to the Manhattan Project and underwent a crisis of conscience when it became apparent that the atomic bomb’s ostensible target — Nazi Germany — was on the brink of defeat. Concerned by the possibility that, post-WW2, the US would achieve a nuclear monopoly and become a new kind of imperialist power, Ted and friend Saville Sax leaked key information to the USSR. James’ film takes a decidedly intimate approach: while it dips into archival interviews Ted gave before his death and provides background context via scholars, it’s mostly led by Ted’s wife Joan, a spirited interviewee. Her moving contributions expand the film’s scope, making it as much a portrait of a marriage as a study of the political impact his actions had. James also interviews their children — as well as those of his partner-in-espionage, Saville — to explore the conflicted personal legacy their actions left. In not limiting itself to a macro perspective, the film opens itself up to be more than a look in history’s dusty rear-view mirror, making it a welcome tonic to the Wikipedia-style approach commonly employed for subjects like this.

What stands out

It’s clear that James’ opinion of his subject is a deeply sympathetic one — and it’s easy to see how he arrived at that judgment when you hear Ted’s motivations first-hand and consider that he was one of the few scientists at Los Alamos who felt moved enough to actually act on their ethical misgivings. To its credit, though, the documentary also explores the moral crisis that tormented Ted in his later years as a result of revelations about Stalin’s actions in the USSR. The film’s self-awareness in this regard — its recognition that things might not have been so clear cut, even for Ted — as well as its empathetic focus on the impact his actions had on his loved ones open up avenues for even critics of Ted’s actions to engage with its fascinating material.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Things to Come (2016)

A beautiful, bittersweet portrait of resilience

8.5

Born in Evin (2020)

Born in Iran's worst prison, a filmmaker's quest for truth

7.5

The Two Popes (2019)

An insightful peek into the papacy led by equally compelling performances

7.9

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

A gay man and a political prisoner change each other's lives through their stories in this wonderfully made drama

7.8

Playground (2021)

An unfiltered account of the darker side of childhood

8.6

Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

6.9

Gloomy Sunday (1999)

A mysterious World War II romance with a fascinating dynamic between its three lovers

7.3

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

A modern Shakespeare adaptation turned essential road movie about two gay hustlers

8.5

Europa (1991)

An idealist is lured to destruction in this surreal, experimental noirish recreation

7.5

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.