The incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who shared classified nuclear secrets with Russia.
With “Oppenheimer” in theaters and the debate raging over whether a biopic about our Shiva Goddess of Death deserves a major release, “A Compassionate Spy’s” timing is most auspicious. With the world constantly at the brink of nuclear disaster, was the equally controversial Ted Hall correct in his actions? Are we safer or more vulnerable because of them?
Taking place over decades, it is crafted by Steven James, a director who made his mark with the epic basketball documentary “Hoop Dreams,” which centered on two promising athletes navigating the trials and tribulations of making it big in the game. Since then, James has directed several documentaries. Here, James captures a time and place where one person could shift the sands of time and make a difference for better or worse.
Beginning in 1998 at Cambridge in the UK, Joan Hall asks her husband, former physicist Ted Hall, about his choices and how he feels about the consequences. Ted’s story begins in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he was stationed during Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project, which utilized nuclear fission to develop the first atomic bomb. At just 18 years old, Ted was the youngest physicist working on the top secret project, a Promethean preemptive maneuver to beat the Nazis, who were falsely assumed to be nearing the completion of their atomic bomb.
Terrified by this global imbalance of one country containing the power of a God, in 1944, Ted began a correspondence with the Soviets. He believed sharing these nuclear secrets would deter future war if both Superpowers had atomic weapons. In a way, he was the first MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) Man. During one of the many interviews, Ted remarks that he found the initial process of nuclear implosions and diffusion “exhilarating,” but as the war wound down, in Ted’s own words, “I was worried that the capitalist system would generate another Nazi Germany.” Upon the first successful implosion test in New Mexico, while his team of fellow scientists and military officials celebrated, Ted sat and solemnly listened to his record player. “A Compassionate Spy” mainly uses Mozart’s piano and violin concerto, one of the Halls’ favorite compositions. It keeps a calming, focused atmosphere for this sensational chapter of history.
James uses mostly well-produced reenactments to showcase these personal anecdotes, which became hinge points of historical significance. The best documentaries to adequately capture dramatic reenactments are “The Thin Blue Line” and the more recent “The Jinx.” But the reenactments in “A Compassionate Spy” are helpful since this extraordinary story demands a visual retelling. James also has an abundance of archival footage and WWII propaganda films, which nicely round out the rest of the documentary’s imperfections. One scene was an eye-opener when the two pilots of the Enola Gay – which dropped the first Atomic bomb over Hiroshima – were gloating over their destruction. James assertively follows up with footage of the bomb’s aftermath in the once thriving Japanese prefecture, now reduced to a wasteland.
Joan and Ted met while attending the University of Chicago, esteemed for its intellectual studies and notable alumni (shoutout to Roger Ebert). Also in attendance was Saville “Savy” Sax, Ted’s best friend and the couple’s third wheel. Savy was a Russian Jew and a staunch anti-capitalist. During reenactments, the actor playing Savy was a bit grating. However, the depiction of his and Ted’s secret code for sharing nuclear secrets using passages from Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” was very clever. Ted and Joan married upon his graduation, but due to constant surveillance from the FBI and other pressures, their domestic bliss would forever be upended. Under FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, any subversive activities by citizens were undermined or attacked by the power of the State. This is showcased when Joan reflects on The Rosenbergs, who were accused, possibly mistakenly, of being Soviet Spies and were subsequently sent to the electric chair.
Interestingly, Ted speculated that they were, in fact, guilty but abhorred their death sentences. These defectors are always a fascinating topic, though. Currently, Yeonmi Park is the latest “defector” receiving lots of acclaim for telling some rather tall tales of life in North Korea. Like when the train in Pyongyang runs out of fuel, the citizens are allegedly ordered to defy the laws of physics and amazingly push the locomotive the rest of the way to its destination.
The documentary also captures other critical moments in history, like when Japan was ready to surrender, but due to one person, President Truman, he decided to drop the atomic bomb – twice. He stated there was also an interest in keeping the Soviets from invading Japan and Korea, giving the Red Army much more juice in the imperialism game. Regardless, the US briefly maintained post-WWII hegemony with its nukes. This nuclear hegemony was eventually thwarted when the Soviets developed their bomb after a successful test at Semipalatinsk in 1949.
“A Compassionate Spy” also notes how most of the investors behind the $2 billion Manhattan Project were made up of Wall Street bankers and influential industrialists. It is truly a rarity to see these significant moments where American science was co-opted by military and private industrial interests being talked about, let alone documented. The steady decline of the sciences began with President Truman and has not improved since.
Joan is also an excellent subject. She is funny and insightful. She states, “You think the United States is bad now? It was worse then.” Others like Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel, who wrote about Ted’s actions under ‘Bombshell: The Secret Story of America’s Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy’ are interviewed, along with surviving children of the Halls and Savy’s son. These descendants give more time to reflect on their parents’ legacy and how things transpired, but reflecting on what’s just been discussed becomes a tad redundant. Yet, it ends powerfully with a startling fact: “On January 22, 2021, the UN declared nuclear weapons illegal. None of the nine nuclear nations have signed the treaty.”
In Theaters and on VOD Friday, August 4th
