Review of Denial (2016) by Alan W — 18 Oct 2016
Based on the real life events surrounding the libel lawsuit by David Irving against Deborah Lipstadt after the publication of her book debunking his Holocaust denying rhetorics, this is typical of the 'worthy' films that come round during the Awards season.
As the court case took place in the UK, instead of flashy Grisham-esque melodrama, it is a subtler and more grounded affair as the advocates adopt a more methodic and less grandstanding approach to present their case.
The reality of British litigation often will not make good drama or cinema and so the script has to pick choice moments to illustrate how the case develops, with all its ups and downs, through its 8 weeks plus trial and this the film does well.
Mick Jackson's direction however, comes across as a little TV movie-ish and some of the scenes verge on the side of over-sentimentality and heavy-handedness. This is nevertheless a watchable but very traditional courtroom drama centred mostly on the trio of performances by Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson and Timothy Spall - and for me, it is the latter who's most memorable as his presence always lit up the screen even though he is playing the big Holocaust denying baddie.
This review of Denial (2016) was written by Alan W on 18 Oct 2016.
Denial has generally received positive reviews.
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