Denial

DENIAL

Director : Mick Jackson

Year : 2017

Genre : Drama

Rating : ****

'Denial', Mick Jackson's ('The Bodyguard', 'Volcano') dramatisation of the tumultuous 1996 libel case against the Jewish historian Deborah Lipstadt by the infamous holocaust denier David Irving is all at once engrossing, evocative and infuriating; as well as one of the most important and relevant films any of us are likely to see in 2017. Despite being made on a very low budget and despite its obvious televisual constraints, the film, based on Lipstadt's own bestselling book 'History On Trial : My Day In Court With A Holocaust Denier', manages to fully engage it's audience thanks to the brilliantly potent yet respectful screenplay by the esteemed playwright and theatre/movie director David Hare which swiftly goes for the throat of it's potentially incendiary subject matter as well an impressive cast of high class British talent who absolutely devote themselves to their parts - both protagonist and antagonist. 

Leading this fine ensemble is Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz who is terrific as the forthright and determined Lipstadt who shamefully had to put her profession and reputation on the line in the name of historical justice while Tom Wilkinson and Andrew Scott do great work as her solicitor and barrister respectively. But the real standout is Timothy Spall who is simply brilliant as the odious and egocentric Irving. From 'Pierrepoint' to the 'Harry Potter' series, Spall is well known for playing the more unsavoury characters and 'Denial' sees him delivering what may just be the best performance in his already extraordinary career, injecting his sinister portrayal of the vile ''historian'' and well-documented antisemite with a showman-like vanity and cruel and misinformed prejudice. 

At a time when the quasi-Orwellian phrase ''alternative facts'' is becoming increasingly commonplace in today's volatile political climate, it is refreshing to a see a film that dedicates itself to proving nothing but the unequivocal truth. 'Denial' may not be the most cinematic of new releases but it may just be the most vital.