Movie Review: 'Defiance'

This is the part where I act like an authority on entertainment, and criticize the work of professionals who are, without exception, more successful than I in the industry in which we both work. Some people would say this is proof I have "balls", or "chutzpah" in Jewspeak. Others would say it's proof I'm a "douchebag". To catch up on any old reviews, you can find the link on the right hand side of the page, or just click here.

’Defiance’ just may be my JEFME film of the year. The JEFME formula relies heavily on a film’s ending and the viewer’s expectations heading in. Despite ranking it at #7 on my Top 10 list of movies I still wanted to see this year, I didn’t have particularly high hopes.

Some other movies had climbed above it, and I hadn’t heard much hype about it. I still haven’t heard much hype, but now I’m beginning to wonder why. I’m sure its subject matter has something to do with it. It is a true story about three Jewish brothers who escaped Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where one joined the Russian resistance while the other two built a village in order to protect themselves from the Nazis. That’s not blockbuster material. But it’s not like ’Doubt’ is the feel-good movie of the holiday season, and I see hype for that everywhere I look.

But hype or no hype -- and JEFME or no JEFME -- I thought it was one of the 10 best movies I saw this year. Of course, now that you’ve read this, your expectations will be raised so that JEFME mojo will be working against you. And ’Defiance’ won’t be for everybody -- it’s a dark, intense drama that takes character and arc more seriously then fight scenes. The result is more ’Schindler’s List’ than ’Saving Private Ryan’.

Liev Schrieber and Daniel Craig are Zus and Tuvia Bielski, respectively. Brothers who share pain and anger, but direct it in very different ways, their dual stories -- both together and apart -- shape the story. Their stormy, competitive relationship with each other, the differing roads they choose to take following their escape from Poland, and the different, but diverging paths they take to salvation are the driving forces within the story, and their performances carry the film. Each give their characters multi-layered, complicated, vivid personas, which makes their incredible journeys that much more rewarding.

Along for the ride is younger brother Asael Bielski (Jamie Bell). He’s asked to go toe to toe with some serious talent and comes through like a champ. The brothers have all lost their parents, and soon lose more than that. They have no homes, no lives, no future. Tuvia and Asael choose to build a village and stay with the other Jews who drift in from time to time, borrowing (and stealing) food from nearby farms to survive. While the more combative Zus goes off with Russian Resistance fighters to kill Nazis for revenge.

In the camp, the Brothers Bielski fall for women but life is not easy. They are racked with famine and disease, and have to do unsettling things to survive. Not to mention the camp politics when the group swells, and food rations are scarce. The storylines are many, varied, and each delicately portrayed.

Weaving together all the threads seamlessly are co-screenwriters Clayton Frohman and Ed Zwick, who also directed. The script is adapted from the non-fiction book ’Defiance: the Bielski Partisans’. It’s an amazing story, and I’m surprised it’s taken this long to see it told on the screen. Maybe the similar ’Schindler’s List’ stole its thunder, but this story is just as heroic, and its effects are just as far-reaching.

A heroic story carries no guarantee of good film, however, and Zwick deserves a lot credit for making sure the facts fit into a coherent, and entertaining structure. Zwick does here what he always does, telling a politically-charged story (see: 'Glory', 'Blood Diamond', etc) in a straight-forward, matter of fact, Ron Howard-like way -- short of style, long on substance.

Judging by the aforementioned lack of hype, I guess Zwick and company's efforts will go largely un-rewarded this awards season (its only Golden Globes nomination was for Original Score), but it’s one of the better films of December -- the prestige opening period in Hollywood.

Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment -- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -- I rate 'Defiance':

RECOMMEND

Random List: Top 10 Movies Still To Come In '08

It's the start of Oscar season, so what better time to rank the contenders coming out before the end of the year. I’m ranking these in order of how much I want to see them, not necessarily how good I think they’ll be. All I know of these movies is from a trailer and reading about them. This list is all about expectation, and personal taste.

1. 'Milk' -- Even if this wasn’t about a man whose murder was a local story I still remember from my youth, I’d be excited. I’m a sucker for anything with Sean Penn in it, and Gus Van Sant is one my favorites -– especially when he plays it straight (a la ’To Die For’), as he reportedly does here. And the supporting cast includes Emile Hirsch, James Franco, and Josh Brolin.

2. 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' -- I’m a huge David Fincher fan, and his two best movies starred Brad Pitt, who plays the title role here. It’s a great idea from a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, adapted by Eric Roth. And the trailer looks amazing. What’s not to like?

3. 'Frost/Nixon' -- Another true story from my youth, though I was a little young to comprehend. It was a hit play, and is adapted by playwright Peter Morgan. Ron Howard directs, and people are predicting an Oscar nomination for Frank Langella as Nixon.

4. 'The Wrestler' -- Darren Arnofsky. Mickey Rourke’s big comeback -– maybe an Oscar nod. I’m so there. And that’s before I knew personal favorite Marissa Tomei was in it.

5. 'Revolutionary Road' -- Sam Mendes directs an adaptation of a Richard Yates novel, reuniting Kate Winslet (his real-life wife) with her ’Titanic’ co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.

6. 'Valkyrie' -- Director Bryan Singer and screenwriter – the team which brought us ’The Usual Suspects’ -- reunites to relay yet another real life story about the German soldier (played by Tom Cruise) who tried to kill Hitler.

7. 'Defiance' -- Ed Zwick co-writes and directs this tale of bad ass Jews kicking Nazi ass. It stars Live Schreiber and Daniel Craig (who’s already been in one Jews-kicking-Nazi-ass movie, ’Munich’).

8. 'Doubt' -- The underrated John Patrick Shanley adapts and directs his Pulitzer prize-winning play about a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who’s accused of molestation by a bitter old nun (Meryl Streep).

9. 'Australia' -- Baz Luhrmann can get a little fanciful for me, but he can create a spectacle with any filmmaker. Plus, I love Australia (I was there for my marriage/honeymoon). But if at any point Hugh Jackman breaks into song, all bets are off.

10. 'Seven Pounds' -- This Will Smith Oscar bait looks a little sappy/weepy for my tastes, but I needed to round out the 10.