Timothy Spall is charismatic in “Denial”

Denial, starring Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew), tells the true story of writer and historian Deborah Lipstadt’s defense of the Holocaust in a courtroom confrontation with denier David Irving (Spall). First reviews of the film focus largely on Spall’s portrayal of Irving, and give mixed views on the value of his charismatic portrayal of the character.

Flickering Myth offers a largely critical review of the film, which seems to imply the movie would have been better off if Spall had brought more of his iconic sliminess from Harry Potter to this role, in which he is so energetic and charming that the film gravitates to him even though he is meant to be the villain:

“Few valiant, if limp attempts at making a statement on the media’s involvement in creating and helping Irvine’s cause are fast undermined by the film’s manic infatuation. This in part, is down to Spall’s performance; lively and and played with bags of charm, where maybe to present him as vulgar, less human more monster, would be a far stronger path.”

The review says the film fails to draw attention to the ridiculousness of Holocaust-deniers’ claims, instead giving them a platform and the gravitas that goes with it – Spall’s character only adding to this vibe. This complaint is summarized by the following:

“[Denial is] a strangely partisan, wholly misjudged attempt at re-telling a court case long deserved to be forgotten. A renowned Holocaust denier, Neo-Nazi and all round bad egg, Irving–although losing the court case–now finds himself again with a profile, like a cancer spreading once more through the public’s conscious. The court case in itself still baffles and infuriates yet for the sake of forced drama, director Mick Jackson spins a yarn without bias, placating villainy in place of a 50/50, all’s fair in love and war debate.”

A review at RogerEbert.com is not much gentler, though it does disagree slightly in its assessment of Spall’s performance, portraying him as more in line with the intended perception of Irving:

“…greedily soaking up the attention and grandly oozing smug know-it-all-ness from every pore.”

According to this review, Denial never manages to achieve the necessary sense of anger at injustice to then strongly deliver when its finally served. However, praise is given to the director (Mick Jackson) for his handling of a pivotal scene which depicts Lipstadt’s visit to Auschwitz with her legal team, in which Spall also stars.

The review recounts:

“First seen in the pre-dawn darkness with a blanket of snow and eerie pockets of fog, it is one of the few times that “Denial” vividly drives home what is at stake in this lawsuit. Add to that the footage of mountainous piles of shoes and eyeglasses encased behind glass as part of an exhibit, and it is difficult not to be at least partly invested in the movie’s outcome. These scenes, and the look of utter repulsion that washes over [her barrister’s] face as he refuses to make eye contact with Spall’s Irving while delivering his final verbal coup d’etat, are the saving grace of a film that too often denies its audience a chance to feel the same.”

Some of Timothy Spall’s own thoughts on reprising another infamous villain can be found in one of Leaky’s Cast Round-Ups:

“Any role I play whether they hold controversial views, whether they are a popular character, whether they are a person completely insignificant as far as history is concerned, I always do it exactly the same. I try to play them completely from their own point of view.”

Denial was released in U.S. theaters Oct. 21. Fans in the UK can see Spall as David Irving when it opens Jan. 27, 2017.

To read Flickering Myth’s full review, click here. For the review found at RogerEbert.com, read here.