YNMS: Denial
Monday, June 20, 2016 at 1:30PM 
Manuel here with yet another sign of the Rachel Weisz renaissance we all so spiritedly discussed a few weeks back. When the trailer for The Light Between Oceans surfaced I was probably not alone in earmarking her supporting role in that Vikander/Fassbender weepie as a chance for the actress to nab her second Oscar nomination (which most of us had vainly hoped she’d net with her beautiful work in The Deep Blue Sea). Well, there may be a clearer path for the actress with Denial which is, after all, squarely focused on that most Oscar-ey of topics: the Holocaust.
Rather than focus on the event itself, the film centers instead on a very public libel suit in the UK in the 1990s between a writer, David Irving (Timothy Spall), and a historian, Deborah E. Lipstadt (Weisz) after she accuses him of denying the Holocaust. Let’s break down the trailer YNMS-style after the jump...
What if we lose? Suddenly it becomes acceptable to say the Holocaust didn't happen?
YES
- I’d say Weisz is unrecognizable given her frumpy hair and New Yahk accent but those eyes are hard to mistake. It nevertheless marks a type of role that Weisz hasn’t played (or perhaps hasn’t been offered) before, requiring as it does this type of de-glamming. (Side question for TFE readers: has Weisz ever looked not-ravishing in a film? Am I forgetting some key performance here?)
- The entire supporting cast looks fantastic with Tom Wilkinson and Andrew Scott (!) suggesting we’ve got a solid (albeit male-skewing) ensemble on our hands. But it is Spall who looks to be having the most to work with playing Irving with a blustering loquaciousness that nicely contrasts with Weisz’s more composed if ruffled Lipstadt.
- For what seems to be a courtroom drama I was taken aback by the beauty of some of the outdoor shots—those Auschwitz wintery sequences look quite striking, no?
NO
We know what it is, it's how we prove what it is.
- Will the film work even when we know what the outcome will be? It is, as the trailer reminds us, “Based on a True Story” and given the way the central debate is framed you can perhaps already guess what the verdict was. That it also leans hard into the free speech aspect of the narrative suggests it might also end up feeling like a Big Theme movie, can it do so without sounding hollow?
- Can the director of Temple Grandin, The Memory Keeper's Daughter and Tuesdays With Morrie deliver the type of nuanced, character-driven, zeitgesty film this subject matter is all but asking for? I have my doubts but that's one thing trailers can't ever really help you answer.
MAYBE SO
Not all opinions are equal.
- It’s perhaps too much to ask that every new Holocaust-themed film offer us something new but given this novel framework Denial will have to infuse its narrative with a sense of urgency lest it become a mere academic (or worse yet, judicial) exercise.
- David Hare. The first film that came to mind as I watched this trailer was The Reader and lo and behold, it turns out Hare also adapted this Holocaust/courtroom drama (from Lipstadt’s book). As divisive as that film (and its eventual Best Actress triumph) has become, there’s no denying that Hare has a knack for structure and potency which a story like this one will require.
I’m a Yes on the prospect of Weisz alone though if I’m honest it’s probably more of a Maybe So given the reservations the subject matter brings up. How about you?
Can we hope the film, which opens in August in the US, gives us a knockout Weisz performance as well as a riveting courtroom drama about the perils of forgetting (or artfully misremembering) a history of prejudice without it turning out like a didactic piece of work?
Reader Comments (21)
Love Weisz so happy to give it a shot. I'm also intrigued by the connection it makes to other "denials" (global warming, etc) so that it seems to be less about the Holocaust and more about our cultural willingness to see facts as subjective. That is timely material that, if it is the spine of the film, would really be fresh and worth exploring.
I'm about at the point that if it has Rachel Weisz in the cast, I'll say yes to it (unless it's a Bourne film that doesn't have Matt Damon). So, yes.
Yes because she's a terrific actress. Also because there is something hugely gratifying for me personally to be able to see a woman academic deal with and successfully fend off attacks from an overzealous British mansplainer (presumably).
Weisz + Spall + Wilkinson + Harriet Walter in a David Hare story? I'm a yes
Having gone to Emory University and taken a class or two with Professor Lipstadt, I am perhaps a bit pre-sold on this (and it sure as hell gave me a special thrill seeing that gorgeous campus in the trailer). But my question with this project, since it was announced, is whether or not the story can legitimately sustain itself over the course of anything longer than an in-depth news segment, given that we know the outcome. Spall appears to be having a blast, but if he's TOO despicably evil, I worry that the film will fall flat. Then again, maybe his theatrics will be what keep it afloat?
Think I'd prefer seeing it with the original choice of Lead Actress.
she looks to be on fire in this film. Count me in for the Weisz-aissance.
Weisz has a real knack for finding, (or getting) screenplays about independent, strong woman who care about social injustice. She always seems credible, and while they aren't huge box office, I've never been disappointed yet.
For someone who came to prominence with "The Mummy" she has made a remarkable change. Obviously I'm a yes to this.
Btw. I think the closest she came to a de-glam role would be "The Whistleblower", but she still looked pretty good, just a little plainer.
Think I'd prefer seeing it with the original choice of Lead Actress.
Boo, nobody cares about her! The producers got a more relevant actress and a substantial beauty upgrade.
This looks like a dynamo film and I'm hoping that it's able to sustain its running time. Weisz looks especially good in this, terms of both a really great part and a haircut that reminds me of Jessica Lange in Frances for some reason. And I'm always a fan of invoking Jessica Lange so, works for me. If she and Spall pull this off I'll be so thrilled.
And! While this may not have ever really been a possibility anyways, I'd totally stand behind any campaign for her in The Lobster, which I absolutely need to rewatch but damn was she good in that part. I'm with all the love for Colman, and if this leads to her getting a new level of exposure over the already-Oscared Weisz I'd be super happy for her, but hopefully both of them (and Lea Seydoux?) would be rightfully and deservedly earned.
Hare made serious missteps with his script for The Reader. His cliched approach to depict the banality of evil was so wrongheaded. But I adore Weisz (her brittle, contentious narration in The Lobster is such the right choice) so I might give this one a shot.
This is never the type of film that I'd see in theaters never how good, but will I rent it - Yep, likely!
>I adore Weisz.
>Spall looks to have a juicy role. Assuming the film is any good, he should probably be bumped up to Tier 2 in supporting actor nomination chances?
>No The Reader was not a masterpiece but it was pretty good! The fact that this film has the same screenwriter is a good sign. Although he also wrote The Hours - so put that one in the negative column i guess.
The Lobster kinda made her look less glamorous. She didn't have make up and her nails were dirty. But I can't see other movie where she wasn't the usual Weisz (HOT)... maybe Enemy At The Gates?
Did i miss something? Who was the original choice for the lead actress?
Swank
And she bowed out to take care of her sick father,so at least somebody cares.
I see the film as this year's "Concussion." One that seems intended for Oscar glory yet doesn't look to have the right stuff. It doesn't look like a big commercial player, critics might write it off as awards fodder, and its lead performer is speaking in a shaky accent.
Yes all the way.
As for de-glam, in Weisz's defense, she has this internal luminescence (I hope that's the word I'm looking for) that always seems to accentuate her natural physical beauty, even in the films y'all have been mentioning (Whistleblower, Enemy at the Gates, etc...)... She wears dirt and Hollywood sweat well, is all I'm saying.
I will say her accent work is a little spotty, but I think that's due more to her natural accent than anything.
Man, she is really out there this year! Good for you, Ms. Weisz! Still an underrated gem!
What /3rtful said.
YES YES YES