Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall

DENIAL (UK/USA 2016) ***
Directed by Mick Jackson

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall

Review by Gilbert Seah

DENIAL refers to the denial of the existence of the holocaust. The film is a courtroom drama that contests the case.

After historian Deborah Lipstadt (Oscar Winner Rachel Weisz, THE DEEP BLUE SEA) publishes her book on the Holocaust, she is challenged by David Irving (Timothy Spall), a once well-regarded historian. Irving began citing the pseudoscientific Leuchter report as proof that the Holocaust was a hoax. Lipstadt explicitly labelled him a denier in her 1993 book Denying the Holocaust, and he sued her for libel. But since the burden of proof in English libel law lies with the accused (a point very clearly stated in the film as a difference between American and British law), it bizarrely fell to Lipstadt and her legal team to demonstrate that one of the defining events of the century did indeed transpire.

There are a few reasons to see this film. Besides extraordinary performances from the top three in the cast (See photo inset), the script is written by director and famous British playwright David Hare (THE READER and THE HOURS) which he adapted from the book by Deborah E. Lipstadt “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier”.

The villain of the piece is Irving played with evil relish by Spall epitomizing the banality of evil while gloating in all the publicity he receives. The film also shows the amount of preparation that goes into a case, and even more for an important a case as this one. An important fact too is the fact that a client’s trust in her solicitor is key to the winning of the case. DENIAL is one of the rare courtroom film that shows more of the goings-on behind the scenes.

DENIAL besides being a film about the truth triumphing over lies, is also one that reveals a lot about the individuals involved in a fight. DENIAL is all an entertaining well-shot period drama.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH7ktvUWaYo