Denial
Courtroom drama from the director of The Bodyguard, starring Academy Award-winner Rachel Weisz as a writer being sued for libel by a renowned Holocaust denier (Timothy Spall).
"David Irving (Spall), once a well-regarded military historian, courted controversy when he began citing the pseudoscientific Leuchter report as proof that the Holocaust was a hoax. Lipstadt (Weisz) 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, it bizarrely fell to Lipstadt and her legal team to demonstrate that one of the defining events of the century did indeed transpire." (Toronto International Film Festival)
- Director:
- Mick Jackson ('The Bodyguard', 'Volcano', 'L.A. Story')
- Writer:
- David Hare
- Cast:
- Rachel WeiszAndrew ScottTimothy SpallTom WilkinsonMark GatissHarriet WalterJack LowdenAlex JenningsCaren PistoriusJohn Sessions
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Paul Casserly
flicksRachel Weisz finds the prickly heart of Lipstadt, replete with a Queens accent, even if she’s effectively silenced as the defence team pursues a tactic that puts Irving on trial and forbids Lipstadt or any Auschwitz survivors from testifying. Lipstadt wants to attack the case all guns blazing, she wants American balls-out bluster, but the reserved Brits convince her otherwise. That Brit/Yank divide is mined amusingly throughout, with Lipstadt telling a stateside colleague that the judge (that master of the quivering upper lip, Alex Jennings) looked “like something straight out of Masterpiece Theatre”.
An historical essay warning that manipulators of truth will always be among us.
The nature of truth and the power to manipulate it have long been contentious themes in history and cinema. The outstanding film Denial (2016) resonates loudly in today’s post-truth world where power is often used to create alternate realities. It is a film that portrays denialism as a dangerous and perverse form of moral corruption, something that may be...
Variety
pressThe crucial thing missing is what should be the essence of a courtroom drama: our immersion in how Lipstadt's lawyers stake out their strategy.
The New York Times
pressYou wonder if the material would have been more effective as a courtroom procedural adapted for the stage.
The Guardian
pressPatches of it are so ludicrously hammy it plays like one of those unbearably corny fake films teased at the beginning of Tropic Thunder.
Los Angeles Times
pressBecause Hare's script grapples with serious themes and singular events whose ramifications are still being felt, it is effective when it counts.
Hollywood Reporter
pressA compelling, true courtroom drama touches on the lingering pain of the Holocaust.
FilmInk
pressThe court hearings are almost unbelievable and yet are lifted, verbatim, from the records.
Collider
pressIt's frustrating to see a movie that's so perfect for the age in which we live and yet bungles its narrative so completely.
Flicks, Paul Casserly
flicksRachel Weisz finds the prickly heart of Lipstadt, replete with a Queens accent, even if she’s effectively silenced as the defence team pursues a tactic that puts Irving on trial and forbids Lipstadt or any Auschwitz survivors from testifying. Lipstadt wants to attack the case all guns blazing, she wants American balls-out bluster, but the reserved Brits convince her otherwise. That Brit/Yank divide is mined amusingly throughout, with Lipstadt telling a stateside colleague that the judge (that master of the quivering upper lip, Alex Jennings) looked “like something straight out of Masterpiece Theatre”.
Variety
pressThe crucial thing missing is what should be the essence of a courtroom drama: our immersion in how Lipstadt's lawyers stake out their strategy.
The New York Times
pressYou wonder if the material would have been more effective as a courtroom procedural adapted for the stage.
The Guardian
pressPatches of it are so ludicrously hammy it plays like one of those unbearably corny fake films teased at the beginning of Tropic Thunder.
Los Angeles Times
pressBecause Hare's script grapples with serious themes and singular events whose ramifications are still being felt, it is effective when it counts.
Hollywood Reporter
pressA compelling, true courtroom drama touches on the lingering pain of the Holocaust.
FilmInk
pressThe court hearings are almost unbelievable and yet are lifted, verbatim, from the records.
Collider
pressIt's frustrating to see a movie that's so perfect for the age in which we live and yet bungles its narrative so completely.
An historical essay warning that manipulators of truth will always be among us.
The nature of truth and the power to manipulate it have long been contentious themes in history and cinema. The outstanding film Denial (2016) resonates loudly in today’s post-truth world where power is often used to create alternate realities. It is a film that portrays denialism as a dangerous and perverse form of moral corruption, something that may be...
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