Defiant, but Oddly Lacking

For the past few months I have been seeing a trailer for "Defiance." It is possible that I have watched it more than ten times. With each viewing, I assumed that a very powerful Oscar contender was about to be unfurled upon the viewing public. I finally saw the actual film. It was a letdown. This does not mean it is a bad film. Far from it. But there is something missing that prevents it from being an extraordinary film. I'm not certain what is holding it back, although I have a few theories.

"Defiance" is based on a true story about four Jewish brothers from West Belarus in Poland who escape from the Nazis after their family is murdered. Instead of fleeing, they decide to fight back. Through fate, they also take on the role of protector to other Jews, rescuing over 1,200 from the ghettos in Poland. The film, directed by Edward Zwick ("Blood Diamond") is an adaptation of Nechama Tec's "Defiance: The Bielski Partisans." In the book, pacifist and non-militant Polish Jews come together and train for military duty in order to oppose the German and Russian occupation of their homeland.

Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig) and his brother Zus (Liev Schreiber) are the two leaders of the movement. Tuvia is primarily concerned with hiding people in the woods and keeping them safe from invading German forces, while Zus is more inclined toward seeking revenge for his family's massacre, joining up with Russian freedom fighters. This causes a rift between the two Bielski brothers but it is a rift that is obviously repairable.

"Defiance" is a great story, mostly because it is true. Unfortunately, this filmed version of the events is lacking in oomph. It feels scripted, invoking an emotional reaction from its audience based on obvious cues rather than allowing reactions to flow naturally from the depicted events.

Craig does his usual fine job but Schreiber left me cold in his portrayal of Zus. To be fair, I am not a huge Schreiber fan, so there may be some prejudicial bias coloring my appraisal. But even if I can get past that, I can't get past that the film feels artificial, even though it is based on truth. I don't think the movie-going public will be all that disappointed with "Defiance" but I do think that my initial guess that this would be a huge Oscar contender was dead wrong.