Review: Denial

How do you prove the Holocaust happened? Many would deny that it ever happened. Yes, there are the historical records - a tremendous amount of documentation encompassing concentration camp records and the testimony of witnesses from the German guards themselves to the survivors - but deniers will argue that the killings were not systematic, that the number of fatalities is exaggerated, that Auschwitz was not built for extermination, and that the Holocaust is a myth collectively created and perpetuated by the Jewish people as a means of advancing their own interests. And, deniers will point out, though there is photographic evidence of the death camps themselves, there is not one single photograph of a Holocaust victim inside a gas chamber.

So how do you prove the truth? This is the focus of Denial, a gripping courtroom drama which recounts the libel case brought against American academic Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) and her publisher Penguin Books by English historical author and Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall). It may beggar belief that such events and that such people as Irving exist but, in today's social and political climes, perhaps it's not so difficult to digest after all.

The film begins in 1994 as Irving interrupts one of Lipstadt's speaking events, offering $1,000 to anyone who can prove that the Nazis deliberately killed Jews in Auschwitz. It's a deeply uncomfortable moment for Lipstadt, who has vowed to never debate with anyone who would deny the Holocaust and who is taunted and mocked by Irving for that very stand. Irving's stunt is just the beginning. Two years later, Lipstadt receives notice from her publishers that Irving has filed for libel, claiming that she and Penguin Books are robbing him of his reputation as a professional historian and therefore endangering his livelihood. It seems a ridiculous enough lawsuit, but Irving has cleverly filed it in England where, unlike in America, the burden of proof is upon the defendant. In essence, it is up to Lipstadt and her legal team to prove that the Holocaust actually happened.

Fortunately, Lipstadt has enlisted quite a defense team including head solicitor Anthony Julius (Andrew Scott), who helped Princess Diana with her divorce case, and head barrister Richard Rampton (Tom Wilkinson), whose just-the-facts-ma'am approach initially needles the emotionally invested Lipstadt. She's particularly outraged during their time visiting Auschwitz when he shows up late and is constantly asking questions of the local scholar instead of taking the evidence at face value. "It's not about memorialising, it's about forensics," she is reminded, though that doesn't quell her frustrations. She's further incensed when she's told that neither she nor any Holocaust survivors are to be put on the stand - the trial is not meant to be therapy, Julius points out. "This case is happening to you, but it's not about you," Rampton tells her - they need to funnel all their efforts into destroying Irving's credibility and using Irving's own words and overweening ego against him.

Denial is a film straightforwardly told by David Hare and directed by Mick Jackson, but it derives its power from its very simplicity. Both Hare and Jackson understand that this is a narrative that needs no bells and whistles, and its most impactful moments emanate from the stark imagery (the mountains of shoes in the Auschwitz museum) and dialogue (all the dialogue in the courtroom scenes are taken verbatim from the trial transcripts). They also don't inflate Irving's monstrosity - he may believe what he is saying and he may have the right to his opinions, but not all opinions are equal. Spall captures Irving's blustering and obliviousness in all its chilling glory and one can even gather a modicum of pity for Irving at film's end when he is rightfully snubbed by Rampton.

Weisz is excellent in a role that can be thankless in its passivity but quite bountiful in its moments of expressiveness and subtlety; her reactions as she serves as a spectator to her own trial are splendid. Then there is Tom Wilkinson, who seems more fully engaged here than he has in recent films. Casual yet commanding, his Rampton is terrifyingly and showstoppingly eloquent in his takedown of Irving.

Invigorating and intelligent, Denial is a must-see film, a cautionary tale on how the facts and truth can be manipulated to fit specific narratives.

Denial

Directed by: Mick Jackson

Written by: David Hare; based on the book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier by Deborah Lipstadt

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott, Jack Lowden, Caren Pistorius, Alex Jennings, Harriet Walter, Mark Gatiss, John Sessions