Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Defiance (2008)
Director: Edward Zwick
Movie review
From Time Out New York
Daniel Craig, blue eyes flaring in all his badassedness, sits atop a white horse. It’s the middle of the forest. Dozens of smudge-faced people stare up at him, agog. For all intents and purposes, he’s their Robin Hood. Here, in the woods, he tells them, there will be food, shelter, freedom from the Germans. (It’s World War II.) All will work. All will thrive. A young girl looks up and asks an adult, “He is a Jew?” The answer, as the violins swell: “Yes.”
Defiance is a pageant—big, sloppy and unapologetic. Like Steven Spielberg’s Munich, it’s part of the new Hebrews-kicking-ass subgenre, and even though we’re currently in a moment saturated with Holocaust hand-wringing (The Reader, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), Defiance actually feels like the most conventionally satisfying of the lot. The movie’s events are from real life, namely the exploits of the Bielski brothers, a trio of hardscrabble Belarusan Jews who protected hundreds of refugees within the confines of a mobile, makeshift community. “Our revenge will be…to leef!” declares Tuvia (Craig); because their director is Oscar-hound Edward Zwick, the English-speaking actors take on silly shtetl accents and speak Russian too.
But these trappings are just the gravy. The meat is Liev Schreiber, as the even-tougher Bielski sib, Zus, tearing out of the trees with machine guns blazing, like Rambo with a yarmulke. He takes out Nazis by the battalion, and sternly confronts his louche Soviet comrades about their anti-Semitic remarks. (The character is beyond awesome.) Defiance is history made over into wish-fulfillment psychodrama, into Exodus. It’s stuck in my head, as only a wet-dog-nosed movie can, and I feel like adding more stars.
Author: Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York Issue 692: January 1 - 7, 2009
User reviews of this film
-
- darryl said...
-
Posted on Feb 02 2009 17:10
Daniel Craig may just be the first "Bond" to escape the black-whole gravity of the franchise, but don't count on it. But while he may just end up on the type cast trash heap yet; he's at least made an effort at relevency by accepting a common part in an uncommon film. His leading man experience is a comfortable fit, but the demands of the character and setting appear to have leached out the actor in him.
He does a good job. We never really buy the "bad boy turned good" image; his support; magnificently applied by Liev-Schreiber, carries the weight for him. They have first rate chemistry; and we CAN buy them as a team. Schreiber's bad boy stick covers them both, so it works.
But the subject matter is the real surprise here. WWII is a well worn subject, but the surface has barely been scratched as far as story potential is concerned. And "Defiance" breaks fairly new ground. With the exception of the Warsaw Uprising we never get to see European Jewry fighting back. It's refreshing to see something other than thousands of Jews walking calmly to the gas chambers like so many lemmings. I consider myself well versed in history, particularly of that period. But I've never heard this story; and since have been pleased to see it's not the only one. Lets hope we see more.
From a cinematic standpoint the movie is good; and it has broad appeal. There's enough shootem' up for the average moviegoer to find it accessible and enough drama to be emotionally compelling to most viewers.
A lot has been made of the male-heavy cast, but I found the females to be real stand-outs. My only complaint about the movie I have is that the coaches seem to have dropped the ball on the accents. The main characters are all supposed to be Jewish, but some of the cast use Russian accents, some seem to have Israeli ones, and still others have Jackie Mason style NY-Yiddish accents. And what's worse, the Bielski brothers all have different ones!
It's a minor quibble though. This film is way overdue: an insightful, dramatic, well-filmed, and accessible action film that entertains all the way through. - Report as inappropriate
-
- Andy Mandleberg said...
- Posted on Jan 11 2009 11:07 its just, is defiance really a film? or is it just a 1930's chintown library poster, we all need to ask each other these questions. ive never ever been related to a horse, people have called me a homo or a gay jonny, i dont take no notice to them, im a strong inner cell, my idol is ron jeremy and can kiss his pack-age. i will have to agree with belinda because she is very truthful by the sounds of things. giraffes dont kill people rappers do.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Kenneth Podmore said...
- Posted on Jan 11 2009 10:56 I went to see the film yesterday with big Gav and i personally agree with belinder this film is about as good as thumbin a softy. however, when we had our little disscussion about the film over a brandy, Big Gav seemed to oppose my view. i argued with Gav late into the night before a took a kitchen utensil and stabbed him in the heart.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- belinda marcus said...
-
Posted on Jan 11 2009 10:51
This film sucked, it was about as good clamidia, and the village swings are better than this wispering eye film.
I havent seen the film yet but im making a very strong assumption - Report as inappropriate
-
- Jeb said...
- Posted on Jan 11 2009 10:49 I thought it was about as good as cloverfield, but even though craig acted superbly he didnt change from being the incredible hunk , my best friend the lurch, works at a pub
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Dominic said...
- Posted on Jan 09 2009 12:31 I cannot understand why this film is getting slated so much. I thought it was outstanding, extremely moving and powerful. The performances from Craig, Schrieber and bell were all superb. Craig escaping from bond displayed what a great actor he is showing the struggles tuvia had to deal with and the heartbreaking decisions he had to make . Schrieber who i hadnt seen much of previously was equally as impressive. The film and its performances are all deserving of oscar nominations.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Jonno said...
- Posted on Jan 08 2009 04:06 I love movie stories of WW2 and I found this one to have a lot of great action but Daniel Craig being German, didnt fool me!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Mikka said...
- Posted on Jan 03 2009 23:23 It's a worthwhile mixed bag of a movie - looks wonderful, some striking scenes - especially one with a wolf - and all that superior male acting. Subtlety, irony, perspective -not. Entertainment with as much thought as you can bring to it yourself, yes. Worth the bucks.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Mia Wasikowska, Allan Corduner, Mark Feuerstein, Jodhi May, Iben Hjejle full cast
Rated: R
Duration: 137 mins
US Release: Jan 2 2009
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.
What do you think?
Post your review now