_Denial_
From
septimus_millenicom@q.com@21:1/5 to
All on Sat Oct 22 19:09:00 2016
I saw _Denial_ mostly because of Rachel Weisz and screenwriter
David Hare. It is a based-on-real-life tale abut a libel suit
filed against Weisz's character, a Jewish professor who lives
in Georgia, U.S., by a London-based Holocaust-denier and self-
styled "historian."
It is not a great film and Weisz's interpretation reminds me
of _My Blueberry Nights_, where she plays another Southern
woman and overacts similarly too. Part of the problem is
that she is given so little in the screenplay -- almost no
backstory or family at all. (She jogs and has a dog. That
tells us something about her life, of course. But did she
grow up in the South? Who is she, really?) I don't know
if this is David Hare's fault or the director's. Hare
directed a superb and horribly underrated film about another
American professional woman in London, the 1989 _Strapless_
starring Blair Brown, which managed to convey her life story
with just a few hints. One wishes Hare is the director here
as well.
The title refers to Weisz's charismatic, racist liar of an
adversary's denial of the Holocaust, of course. But in
none-too-subtle ways, it also refers to Weisz' need to
deny herself outbursts in the courtroom (she is not
allowed to testify by her lawyers), and the prodigious
research and hard work put in by those lawyers. Only
one person in the team has her private life shown.
Almost every reviewer has commented on the incredible
timeliness of the film. The last speech Weisz gives
touch on climate change among things being lied about.
The slimmed-down Timothy Spall (_Mr. Turner_), who
plays the racist, cracking jokes and drawing crowds,
is prescient about Donald Trump, although he
could also be any of our hierarchy of bosses with
no regard for facts or truth. Rachel Weisz's
self-control reminds me of Hillary Clinton in
her presidential debates. But the character who
fortuitously stands in for Clinton is her lead
barrister played by Tom Wilkinson. He is a dour,
anti-charismatic technocrat who wins cases because
he is meticulous, works incredibly hard, and has
the consumate insider's knowledge of how to win.
He is the real hero of the film. In real life,
if he were not helping this one-sided cause, he
would have been loathed by the general public.
In the end, that's probably why Hillary Clinton
is so disliked. She isn't one of "us." (Her
transgressions, such as they are, pale compare
to the bosses of you and me, I'm sure. I once
had a manager who called my intern student back
to work when she was undergoing chemotherapy.)
So in the end, _Denial_ is a thought-provoking film.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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