Denial disappoints

Denial tells the real-life story of Jewish American historian Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz), who had to stand trial in the United Kingdom in 2000 for calling Holocaust denier and historian David Irving (Timothy Spall) what he was, a fraud. The story provides great script material, and the cast is outstanding. Andrew Scott—who played the evil mastermind Moriarty in the BBC Sherlock series—is one of the lead attorneys for Lipstadt, and he is as captivating as ever. When so many good elements are present, it’s disappointing that Denial isn’t a better movie.

We begin with Lipstadt’s frenetic life as a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. At a Q&A about her work as a historian of the Holocaust, Irving ambushes her with cameras rolling. Irving has a flair for performance and knows how to enthrall a room, to Lipstadt’s chagrin.

Based on Lipstadt’s repudiation of his work, Irving files a lawsuit against her for libel in the United Kingdom, where defendants in libel suits don’t have the American presumption of innocence. The film has no admiration for the United Kingdom’s libel laws, and Americans, like Lipstadt, will be happy to live in a country with more protections for free speech.

The story comes to a rolling boil as Lipstadt flies to London and steps into a pre-eminent British law firm, meeting a roomful of top researchers all dedicated to defending her career as a Holocaust historian. Meanwhile Irving decides to represent himself in court—David versus Goliath, as he puts it. So let’s get into the courtroom! Unfortunately the filmmakers mishandle the following acts, with choppy writing, directing, and even use of music.

In a story about genocide, director Mick Jackson struggles to generate much pathos even when Lipstadt’s legal team visits Auschwitz. But it’s a decent film. The PG-13 rating is due to a single obscenity and the subject matter, but the film leaves out disturbing images of the Holocaust atrocities except for a haunting mountain of shoes at Auschwitz.