Denial works better as a cultural mile marker than as a piece of drama. This is neither the fault, per se, of writer David Hare or director Mick Jackson who, in adapting historian Deborah Lipstadt’s book, Holocaust History on Trial, turn viewers into flies on the walls of various courtrooms, apartments, and law offices during one of the new century’s most confounding cases. Lipstadt (played with fiery Queens spunk by Rachel Weisz) spent years defending herself against Holocaust denier David Irving (Timothy Spall, exuding wrong-headed gusto and insecurity). Though both sides make compelling cases (one more than the other), the filmmakers have zero chance, in the moment, of convincing viewers that the outcome could be anything but completely expected. Twenty years on, our political climate still tolerates bald-faced public lying about demonstrable facts. Sadly, that meta-commentary is all that gives Denial heft as a movie.
Welcome to Kicking the Seat!
Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).
The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.
Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.