Into the Woods

A review of Defiance.

Defiance, written by Clayton Frohman and Edward Zwick (based upon a book by Nechama Tec, which I have not yet read) and directed by Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai), is a powerful, well-made film with a message that both resonates and reverberates. How anyone manages to retain his or her humanity in the face of the atrocities of war, and then a step beyond, amidst the horrors of a genocide being perpetrated upon one’s people, is both a mind-boggling feat and an affirmation of life. That ideal is expressly articulated in a pivotal scene by leader and brother Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig), that each day lived while maintaining one’s humanity, one’s principles, is an act of defiance against the Nazis, and it sits at the heart of the film Defiance.

Defiance recounts the story of a group of Jews, led by the Bielski brothers, who fled the persecution of the Nazis during World War II and took refuge in the Nalibocka Forest of Belorussia. Brothers Tuvia, Zus (Liev Schreiber), Asael (Jamie Bell) and Aron (George MacKay) suffer the loss of their parents (and eventually their own families, in the case of Tuvia and Zus) and flee to the woods to evade capture and death. In the process of eking out their own survival, the Bielski brothers encounter more and more fellow Jews in the same predicament (and eventually help to rescue some from nearby ghettos), all of whom look to them, and in particular, eldest brother Tuvia, for leadership and aid. The brothers work to organize the ever-growing population into a community with rules and principles while also trying to keep everyone alive by providing shelter and nourishment. At the same time, the group scavenges weapons and coordinates its own defenses, morphing into the Bielski Partisan, a form of a rebel fighting unit. Inevitably, tensions clash among members of the Bielski Partisan, in particular between eldest brothers Tuvia and Zus, and Defiance dramatizes these tensions amidst the larger struggle for survival.

Defiance features some tremendous performances, in particular, by Daniel Craig as Tuvia. Mr. Craig dramatized the horrible moral dilemmas presented by the situation his character and the others were thrust into without seeming heavy-handed. His Tuvia showed the pain of his choices with subtle expressions and dared to venture into unsympathetic territory by not sanitizing the depiction of actions we might wish he had not taken. Mr. Craig also made this James Bond fan temporarily forget he represented the modern embodiment of 007, a feat indeed (especially considering the makeup artists did nothing to alter those entrancing blue eyes). Liev Schreiber also gave a strong and restrained performance as militant Zus. Jamie Bell’s boyish Asael felt a bit over-the-top at the beginning, but his evolution into a man felt earned and well-played. Mia Wasikowska merits special mention as Chaya, as she hit just the right notes of quiet energy or hysteria, as was called for (of course, a sign of good direction by Mr. Zwick).

As is evident from the content of this review thus far, there isn’t much not to like about Defiance. But there is something missing that precludes me from placing it in the “great” film category. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good film, but there was something about the way the story was presented that prevented me from fully connecting with it. It may have been the way the story was introduced, confronting the viewer immediately with the horrors of the senseless killing of the Jews through what seemed to be historical footage that transitioned to the Bielski brothers’ discovery of the murder of their parents. While effective in grabbing viewers’ attention, it gave us very little sense of who these brothers were before they are consumed by the loss they have suffered. The assaultive nature of the events and their broad scope may actually have diluted their effect a bit, at least until we get to know the brothers individually. In addition, we never got a strong sense of the brothers’ relationships. Clearly, there was rivalry between Tuvia and Zus, but there was little indication of this history of that tension. Similarly, it was never entirely clear why these two grown men had abandoned their wives (and Zus his child) and ended up with their younger brothers in the woods – was it because they had heard their parents were in danger and at that point, their own families were not? And a more minor, cosmetic complaint, the brothers, in particular Mr. Craig and Mr. Schreiber, did not remotely resemble each other, which was somewhat distracting.

But these criticisms did not so overwhelm my experience of seeing Defiance that I wouldn’t recommend it. (Nor did its 137 minute running time, although be forewarned that it does at times feel a bit long and slow.) Quite the opposite, in fact. I encourage you to see the film and determine if you agree with me or not, in particular on the “connectedness” issue. While Defiance is clearly a movie seeking to impart a message, I did not find it to be at all sanctimonious. Instead, the movie has stayed with me in a positive way, and I look forward to having the opportunity to read the book upon which it is based.