Denial
There's something familiar about David Irving in Denial, which recounts the holocaust denier’s 2000 defamation suit against Jewish historian Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz). Irving (played by a villainous, jowly Timothy Spall) is a narcissistic misogynist who openly courts white supremacists, capitalizes on headlines (good or bad), and handles bad press with litigation. Lipstadt is aghast that she must acknowledge his disgusting lies, let alone take time and energy proving they’re wrong. I expected a Holocaust procedural movie to be (1) boring and (2) a bummer, but Denial is neither. Now if I could only figure out who Irving reminds me of….
by Kjerstin Johnson