October 13 2016 49 In the film, as the trial gets under way, the bold, outspoken Lipstadt chafes at the fact that her attorneys will not let her testify, since their strategy is to focus on Irving alone. Nor will Holocaust survi- vors be allowed to give testimony, lest Irving who is representing himself traumatize them further. People will say I m a coward, Lipstadt protests when she learns she will not be able to take the stand. It s the price [to] pay for win- ning, one of her lawyers replies. Lipstadt suffers angst and sleepless nights throughout the grueling, three- month trial. But her team s strategy proves correct. As Judge Charles Gray reads from his verdict, he calls Irving a right-wing, pro-Nazi polemicist who persistently distorted historical evidence for ideologi- cal reasons. In real life, as in the movie, Lipstadt was relieved and elated at the verdict. But, she said, she nevertheless had trepi- dations, some years later, when produc- ers contacted her about turning her book Denial into a movie. I said, Before I give you the green light, you have to under- stand that this is a film about fighting for truth; you can t pretty it up or fictional- ize it, said Lipstadt, whose latest book, Holocaust: An American Understanding, was published this summer. And they heard me very clearly. Screenwriter David Hare (The Reader) spent hours with Lipstadt before writing his script, which took all its courtroom dialogue directly from trial transcripts. And Weisz (The Constant Gardener) also hung out with the scholar in order to absorb her persona. The actress was drawn to the role, in large part, because it was, in the end, a very uplifting story about a woman s fight for truth and justice, and a woman standing up to a bully, Weisz said in a telephone interview from New York, where she lives with her husband, James Bond star Daniel Craig. Weisz also wanted to play Lipstadt for personal reasons: I m not English, after all; my parents were refugees, she said. Her Jewish-Hungarian father fled Budapest with his family around 1938, when he was just 7. And her Austrian mother, daughter of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother, had memories of being 5 years old and suddenly neigh- bors and kids stopped playing with her and speaking to her because she was half Jewish, Weisz said. Her mother s family escaped Vienna to England two weeks before Germany s invasion of Austria. Weisz s mother later converted to Judaism before marrying the actress father, a prolific scientific inventor. Young Rachel grew up in the shadow of her parents wartime experiences. If you and your family have to leave a country, even to find safety, it defines who you are for the rest of your days, she said. They talked about it all the time; it just became normal to me. Weisz went on to study English at Cambridge University, where she also fell in love with acting; she began her movie career performing in independent films such as Stealing Beauty (1996) and burst into stardom with her turn in the 1999 blockbuster The Mummy, opposite Brendan Fraser. That same year she also performed in another film that drew on her Jewish heritage: Istvan Szabo s Sunshine, the saga of how anti-Semitism affects three generations of a Hungarian-Jewish fam- ily, including their experiences during the time of the Holocaust. But Weisz hadn t visited Auschwitz- Birkenau until she took on the role of Lipstadt for Denial. She learned about the workings of the camp while read- ing some of Lipstadt s books, but was not prepared for her emotions as she performed scenes outside Auschwitz s perimeter. (Shooting feature films is pro- hibited inside the former camp.) I was struck by the level of industri- alization the systematic order and the lack of waste in terms of exploiting and using every part of the human body, she said. How incredibly organized it was, was very startling. Interior sections of Auschwitz were re-created on a set in England; for the scene in which Lipstadt recites the El Male Rachamim, the Jewish prayer for the dead, above a gas chamber, Weisz learned to how to say the Hebrew words of the Jewish prayer. It had undeniable power, she said. In another sequence, set in a camp barracks, Weisz passionately argues with her lead barrister, who is interested only in learning facts that can help him win the case and not in memorializing the Holocaust. She tartly tells him to show some respect for the dead. Lipstadt, who was on the set at the time, recalled that when Weisz finished shooting that scene, she said, That wasn t acting. As for actor Timothy Spall s portrayal of Irving, Weisz said, What he says is pretty shocking, but what was brilliant in his performance is that he had a certain charm. There were moments when I almost felt sorry for him. Weisz said she believes the film is especially relevant today, given the racially charged rhetoric of presidential candidate Donald Trump and the escala- tion of anti-Semitism in Europe. But she disagrees with those who believe the verdict against Irving could dampen free speech among historians. David Irving brought this lawsuit against Deborah, she said. He was try- ing to censor her free speech. * EXQUISITE FOOD & EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EpicKosher.com Catering@EpicKosher.com Supervised by the Council of Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit CHOLOV YISROEL KOSHER CUISINE GLATT KOSHER CUISINE 2046060 Food & Spirits Brass Pointe The 10% OFF TOTAL BILL Excludes tax, tip and beverages. With this ad. Banquet Services not included. Dine in or Carry out. 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