Denial

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mick Jackson directs. Haris Zambarloukos behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Justine Wright cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 80% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 2Released 10 years ago.
• 3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
• 4Directed by Mick Jackson, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Justine Wright shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson and Timothy Spall carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "The whole world knows the Holocaust happened. Now she needs to prove it.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt4645330 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 10 themes, including "london, england", "based on novel or book", "court case", "holocaust (shoah)".

The technical file

Cinematography

Haris Zambarloukos

Original score

Howard Shore

Editing

Justine Wright

Production design

Andrew McAlpine

Costume design

Odile Dicks-Mireaux

Makeup / hair

Marese Langan

VFX supervisor

Richard R. Reed

Sound

Dafydd Archard

Stunt coordinator

Julian Spencer

Runtime

109 min · 1h 49m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$10,000,000

Box office

$7,994,527

Return

80% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Denial (2016) ↗

Also by

Mick Jackson

• 
  The Ascent of Man

  1973 · ★ 8.5
• 
  The Real Thing

  1980 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Temple Grandin

  2010 · ★ 7.9
• 
  A Very British Coup

  1988 · ★ 7.9
• 
  Threads

  1984 · ★ 7.6
• 
  The Practice

  1997 · ★ 7.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2017-02-14
  ★ 7/10

  A courtroom drama about who's right and who's wrong! There are many factors to consider, especially for a film like this. Yep, the film was based on the real courtroom event. The film is about two people to prove they're right on their book about the war crimes whether that took place or not. So all the episodes take place in a British high court with mention of Auschwitz concentration camp, particularly about its ruins than the events that happened in there. That means it's a great drama to learn about how these two fought in a lawsuit face-off, but there's nothing about the real event just like the film 'The Eichmann Show'. If you are not a Jew or a neo nazi or not even a European and North American, then this is an okayish film from the entertainment aspect, other than learning truth and history. I really expected some real events, but we have already seen in many films about Auschwitz camp. So they kept this film as a modern day court trial than mixing up with those old crime. Great acting by all. Timothy Spall nailed it in his negative role. He was just a fine supporting actor, till I started to recognise him since his genius display in a biopic, 'Mr. Turner'. This is his one of the top performances. He could play Don Trump in his biopic, beside Rob Redford who's a bit old for that. Rachel Weisz was okay. Her role was not strong enough, despite she's in the main character. Because everyone around her took the honour to rise above hers. Be it Tom Wilkinson, who was surprisingly awesome. So in my perspective the film was good, but not great. The courtroom events lacked strong hold with what a film needs and what the viewers wants with twists and turns in the argument. But I'm very happy being honest than modifying its story to make film commercial worthy. Though the film had some its own moments, in the end it was not enough. Particularly how it concludes and to think why this trial even took place makes no sense at all. Seems more a joke than anything serious, just because of someone being crazily challenging and the other one responding to it. Anyway, it's still largely a sensitive matter and my view is just as an outsider. But the film is worth a watch, if you are not expecting a bigger picture after reading its synopsis. 7/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  BBC Film

  GB

• 

  Participant

  US

• 

  Krasnoff / Foster Entertainment

  US

• SH

  Shoebox Films

  GB

Key crew

• Stand InLucy Scarfe
• Costume DesignOdile Dicks-Mireaux
• ProducerGary Foster
• Executive ProducerGuy Heeley
• ProducerRuss Krasnoff
• CastingDixie Chassay
• BookDeborah Lipstadt
• Production DesignAndrew McAlpine
• Set DecorationLisa Chugg
• Supervising Art DirectorChristina Moore
• Assistant Art DirectorKira Kemble
• Property MasterRoy Chapman
• Camera OperatorLuke Redgrave
• Camera OperatorTomasz Nowak
• GafferDan Lowe
• Rigging GafferJames Smith-Pryor
• Second Unit Director of PhotographyHamish Doyne-Ditmas
• Steadicam OperatorStamos Triantafyllos
• ADR Voice CastingVanessa Baker
• Casting AssistantAva Jade Morgan
• Casting AssociateIsabella Odoffin
• Costume SupervisorHolly Smart
• Music EditorGraham Sutton
• Music EditorJames Sizemore

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• london, england
• based on novel or book
• court case
• holocaust (shoah)
• kraków, poland
• auschwitz-birkenau concentration camp
• biography
• based on true story
• courtroom drama
• holocaust (shoah) denial

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical (limited)2016-09-30PG-13
• Theatrical2016-10-21PG-13
• Physical2017-01-03

Also known as

International titles

• 나는 부정한다 2016KR
• NegaciónMX
• NegaçãoBR
• KłamstwoPL