Review: Defiance (2009)

Director: Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai)

Cast: Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Munich), Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Jaime Bell (Billy Elliot, Jumper), Mark Feuerstein (Good Morning Miami), George MacKay

The Deal: After the Nazi invasion of Poland, the four Bielski brothers escape to the woods. Many other Jews join them in the woods, and the oldest brothers, Tuvia (Craig) and Zus (Schreiber), disagree on the actions they should take. Tuvia believes in sheltering all who come, while Zus believes they should fight alongside the Russians against the Germans. They ultimately go their separate ways, with Tuvia staying behind to lead the developing forrest community. As time goes on, Tuvia's command of the forrest is questioned, sickness spreads, and the Germans press ever closer. As their leader and protector, Tuvia must do whatever it takes to save his fellow Jews.

Thoughts: The film is based on a true story, and does an interesting and entertaining job of recounting the events. It devotes much effort to portraying the struggles the brothers must cope with. As Tuvia struggles to maintain peace and morale within his community, he also must deal with inevitable fighting that will find its way into the forrest. Zus believes he should be fighting out of revenge for his family, but he also believes he should stick by his brothers in times of need, even if they don't see eye to eye.

The performances in the film were solid, with the best coming from Craig and Schreiber. Craig did an excellent job, and I found it easy to connect with the struggles and hardships his character was faced with in taking control. Similarly, I understood Schreiber's character's beliefs. His character at times did not like being the second oldest, and hence, he was so willing to meet events head on to prove his worth. Jamie Bell was fairly good as the the third oldest brother. His character started out in the middle, too old to be looked after closely, but too young to be given lots of responsibility. As the film progresses, we see him grow up and mature; a credit to Bell's work.

Like I mentioned before, a lot of time is devoted to portraying the inner struggles of the brothers. Though I really liked how successful it was in doing so, it also slowed the film down. Trailers implied a more action rich film, so it was misleading with what to expect. It was still quite a good film, but the action could have been dialed up a little more to keep a more exciting pace. None the less, there was tension held throughout the film, and it successfully developed characters the viewer could actually care for and connect with.

Verdict: A good film based on a true story. The characters were well developed, and the film does an excellent job exploring inner struggles amidst a war. ☆☆☆1/2