Mountain FogDEFIANCE: DRAMA RESISTED
May 7th 2009 06:29
Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski in Defiance.
Holocaust films are equally noteworthy for both their quantity and their quality. While such an abhorrent event in human history often transcends critical evaluation of the celluloid it has inspired, there is nevertheless a clutch of excellent films that stick out for their quality, foremost among them being Sophie’s Choice (1982), The Pianist (2002) and Schindler’s List (1993). The Paramount Vantage production of Defiance therefore has a high bar to leap to take a place among some rather auspicious company. Luckily for Defiance, it has a handy head start, being that it’s propelled by an astonishing true story.
The year is 1941, and in Nazi-occupied Poland the Final Solution is in full effect, with the systematic internment and slaughter of Jews rapidly gathering pace. After their farm is raided, the brothers Bielski – Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), and Asael (Jamie Bell) – manage to escape into the dense surrounding forest, which they have known since their childhood. Led by Tuvia, at first the brothers’ only motivation is to stay alive, but as whispers of their daring spreads, they begin to attract other men and women, young and old, who become willing to risk their own lives for their freedom. With the group expanding by the day and a brutal winter setting in, the brothers must utilise their enterprising resistance to save as many lives as possible from the ruthless Nazis and their underlings.
True stories don’t get much more outrageous than the Bielskis’ and such a compelling tale is a natural for the silver screen. It’s unfortunate then that screenwriters Clay Frohman and Edward Zwick have made such a hash with their adaptation of Nechama Tec’s book. Balancing such a tale between the scope of the whole story while also providing the audience with characters to drive the plot is always a tricky proposition, but Frohman and Zwick have left the Bielskis’ character arcs undercooked and lacking in back story, which has the effect of draining the story of much of its natural drama. Adding to this problem is a development in plot that prematurely caps a growing tension between the resourceful Tuvia and the more muscular Zus.
Defiance suffers from further structural problems with its bloated and cumbersome middle act. The strain of the long winter that the camp endures not only takes its toll on the Jews but also on the viewer’s fading interest. The film starts to emulate Holocaust films of the past rather than following the promise of its truculent title, concentrating more on how the people were a victim of circumstance rather than reiterating how they lived empowered by the freedom of being able to decide their own destiny.
The tension between Tuvia and Zus (Liev Schreiber) is drama not capitalised upon in Defiance.
Technically, the film is a mixed bag, with the striking work of cinematographers Robert Alazraki, Gilbert Lecluyse and Eduardo Serra often deflated by Zwick’s heavy-handed direction and Steven Rosenblum’s sometimes dubious editing. All throughout, the players do the best they can with their undercooked characters. Craig brings his typical excellence to the table, valiantly attempted to flesh out Tuvia with some more subtle shading, while Schreiber gets the job of trying to make something out of Zus, a potentially fascinating character let down by drastic oversimplification.
The final result with Defiance is a film that is easier to admire for its ambition than actually appreciate for its quality. This is not a terrible film, but one that lets a golden opportunity slip through its fingers, managing to take a fascinating story and render it devoid of real tension and drama. Ultimately, the Bielskis’ tale is one that needs to be told, but at the end of the day it deserves a better screen treatment than this serviceable but half-baked effort.
Check out the trailer for Defiance below:
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Comment by MVD
"I told you, do a Holocaust movie and the awards come."
Perhaps Mr. Craig was motivated by his own ego on this one.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
As for Craigy-waigy - he comes out of this with his reputation intact. I've been a massive fan of his since before he was famous, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if he does deserve a slap for getting Marc Forster involved in the latest Bond film.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight