Denial is a timely, true account of David Irving
v Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt, a case where the defendants had to prove
in court that the Holocaust actually happened and Hitler historian David Irving was a racist liar. It should just be common fact
that the Holocaust is real, based on countless eyewitness accounts, but in a court of law
you have to have certifiable proof, and therein lies the problem. There's no
photographic evidence, and the Germans blew up their own crematoriums at
Auschwitz to mask the goings-on inside the buildings. So how do you prove such an atrocity took place?
You'll have to watch the movie to find out.
Denial pretty much fell under my radar upon its
initial release, and I'm not sure why it didn't get major attention. It should
have been THE movie to see in 2016, since the term Nazi is back in
"fashion". Despite all that, Denial is tightly
directed and phenomenally acted. Timothy Spall lends a sense of sympathy for
the despicable David Irving. I'm not saying Irving's "misunderstood"
or a "good person". He isn't, but Spall adds a bit of humanity to
him. Tom Wilkinson, even though he's a little late to the party, is his usual
great self. If I had to pick on one particular actor, it'd be Rachel Weisz.
She's not bad, but her "Queens accent" is a little off-putting, and
she wears her heart on her sleeve. One of her lawyers tells her to calm down
dozens of times, and she practically shouts back "I AM CALM!" Honey,
you're high strung, and you really need to learn to whisper
quieter in court.
Denial is now available at the Franklin County Library.
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