DEFIANCE

MOMENTUM PICTURES

RELEASED 9 January 2009

As war spreads throughout Europe, three Jewish brothers (played by Daniel Craig, Liev Shreiber, and Jamie Bell) hide out in the dense forests of their homeland. As they seek out food and weapons, they also take on other refugees in need. Tuvia (Craig) is the reluctant leader but his younger brother Zus (Shreiber) can’t see the need to saddle themselves with extra mouths to feed, and would rather take the fight to the Nazis than hide. As word spreads of this hidden community, more come to join them, but with winter approaching and Nazi patrols coming close, it seems doubtful whether they will make it through the war.

What is obviously a great tale of courage has been rather flatly directed by Edward Zwick. The story never really comes alive, which must also lay at Zwick’s feet as he co-wrote the screenplay. It’s an amazing story, but I’m sure it could have been far better told than it is here. All the cast are good, although nobody manages to keep their Eastern European accents steady (Bell goes Scottish once, and Craig drops his quite a lot), and it’s a good supporting cast too, with many characters that could have been fleshed out a bit more. The action is fairly bloodless, and there’s a scene where the action is slowed down and jerky, looking totally out-of-place with the traditional camerawork in the rest of the film. The cinematography is all cool blues and browns, making the woods look bloody cold.

‘Defiance’ is a cracking true story that hasn’t been done justice by the boring direction and undramatic storytelling, and as such it feels slow and laboured for much of the two-hour running time. It’s only the dependable cast that keep you interested.

THREE OUT OF FIVE