“DEFIANCE” (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber & Jamie Bell)
Admitting that it was hard for me personally to relate to characters named Tuvia, Zeus & Asael Bielski, I thoroughly enjoyed this film & I credit Daniel Craig as being the main reason. His portrayal of Tuvia was impressive to watch; while committing murderous acts of revenge, he was also a compassionate, caring individual that took hundreds of his fellow Jews into the woods to give them a chance at surviving the Nazis during WWII. Although he was obviously reluctant to do so, at first, Tuvia came to the realization that ‘If I don’t help these people, who will?’ & thus, he became their ‘savior’; along with his two younger brothers Zeus (Schreiber) & Asael (Bell) – although Zeus abandons the flock to go help the Russians fight the German army, the 3 brothers are responsible for saving hundreds of lives. (Thousands when, as it points out in the closing credits, all of the offspring of the survivors are counted)
Based on a true story, I found myself doubting its authenticity, as I saw a totally hopeless situation evolve; NONE of these people are going to survive this, so who will be left to tell the story?
My wife was bothered by the brutality shown, so those of you that need your heroes to be ‘perfect’ may not like the way the brothers extract their vengeance upon those that murdered their parents. I guess because we don’t actually see the parents being killed, & thus we only know them as corpses, it IS a little difficult to view Tuvia’s act of revenge & not feel a tinge of empathy for the family he guns down in cold blood. But being an ‘eye for an eye’ kind of guy, I’ve always relished scenes were bad people get their due.
The one thing that turned me against the Jewish survivors was the fact that they seemed to easily forget the loved ones left behind as they quickly began pairing up with ‘Forest Wives’. Zeus, after receiving word that his wife & daughter had been killed, almost immediately begins to seek out her replacement. Okay, I hear you screaming at me – You can’t judge them because they were in such a horrific situation, you jackass! – It’s just that despite Tuvia’s law of ‘no pregnancies',
the horny little buggers started humping each other before the first ‘hut’ was ever erected! The Nazis hunting them like animals wasn’t the only enemy Tuvia had to deal with; dissention within his own ranks, between the ‘soldiers’ that provided protection by keeping watch & risking their lives, versus the general population of women, children & elderly reaches a crescendo when the leader of the soldiers decides that he & his men deserve bigger portions of food than the weaker members of the ‘tribe’. With Zeus gone & Tuvia weakened by illness, the soldier's intent is to become the new leader. For a moment you think Tuvia is going to allow the overthrow to take place, after all he is too ill to lead the group anyway, but he once again comes up with a solution that everyone seemed to agree was 'for the best'.
Alexa Davalos plays Tuvia’s love interest & it seemed to me that she was cast only to provide some ‘beauty’ to this otherwise grim tale – her gorgeous, sparkling blue eyes seemed out of place among the doughy brown-eyed females that pervaded most of the cast. But, that being such a minor complaint (& not really a complaint at all, I like looking at beautiful women!) means that I enjoyed this film very much. It will definitely crash my Top 5 - & since for some unfathomable reason ‘Defiance’ is not being considered a Best Picture contender, then none of my favorite films of ’08 will be up for an Oscar this year. A rarity... not that I didn’t like the films being touted as ‘Best Picture’ contenders, but, to me, “Frost/Nixon”, “The Dark Knight”, “The Reader” & “Wall E” have no business being considered in the Top 10, let alone Top 5. Last year, “3:10 To Yuma” was my favorite film, & I would have liked to see “Charlie Wilson’s War” & “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead” on the list with “Michael Clayton” & “No Country For Old Men” – but it looks as though this year, I won’t have much of a rooting interest in the Oscars, except for Sean Penn & Heath Ledger. So was 2008 a weak year, or was it just a year where I didn’t like what everyone else did? Alas, I digress...
“Defiance” is an excellent story, one of those that when you see the photos of the actual Bielski brothers during the closing credits, makes you shake your head as you realize THAT really happened? I hope you get a chance to see it & perhaps you’ll be wondering like me why it isn’t being mentioned for Best Picture & Daniel Craig for Best Actor. I’m a little bit baffled, myself.
6 comments:
Ah... Terry saw Defiance. Good choice. But you only saw one film this week ? I thought you were going to lovingly shred Revolutionary Road ? Now that is one movie I would gladly like to see a shredding. Not the acting per se, but the overall film. Put a noose around my neck !
As I told you ( TDR ), maybe as far back as a year ago when I gave you my 2008 movie list, that Defiance was on my highest of movies I was looking forward to.
Through more than a year of waiting, I had time to research the TRUE story. Sadly there are some liberties taken ( like always it seems like in Hollywood ) and inaccuracies to the truth. But I didn't feel it made the movie any worse or effected it negatively.
I thought Craig was serviceable. Good. No way though, do I think that's an Oscar worthy performance. I think Schreiber could rival some of the actors being touted in the supporting category in fact, more than Craig in the actor category.
The film cracked my top 20, but not my top 10.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the film, just something kept it from being great for me. Maybe it was the liberties taken now that I think hard on it. It's a good action/thriller.
I also do not go see movies anymore expecting anything to blow me away. Far too many times I have been let down. I have used this theory for a couple of years now before entering a theater, expect thr worse almost and then you may be surprised, and it has kept my anticipation at an even keel. And I have been pleasantly surprised. Some this year as well.
The last time I came away blown away by a movie was nearly 15 years ago. Maybe it has something to do with age and getting older. That maybe we really have seen the best movies in our lifetime. I'm not giving up by any means. I have loved going to the movies for 33 years. I'm just basing off the last decade or so. I don't think it's been as good as in the past. Or maybe that Hollywood is running out of good material ? I just don't think movies are as good as they used to be.
Would I recommend Defiance ? Heck yes.
Also if you haven't seen it, and want to see Daniel Craig in a good performance rent the crime/thriller Layer Cake.
I liked Defiance. But I'm partial and biased I admit, as I am a HUGE Daniel Craig fan. I also like most of Ed Zwick movies too.
I think everybody is good in their roles. But I too think it's just under the Oscar radar. It didn't give me that awards type of feel vibe after seeing it.
I know I may be a little more lucky than others who go to movies because I live downtown, so I can see most anything. Even foreign films and documentaries.
I have noticed 3 movies you haven't put up on your site. Two of them good movies with some good performances. That's The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire and Revolutionary Road, which I feel is the least likeable of the batch,
that has some good performances but it's a bit of a downer as a movie.
I really believe in that Slumdog is the true feel good movie, maybe that's the softy girlie in me, where it could have been a real depressing ( what RR decides to stay as ) movie. And not being a total fan of Mickey Rourke, his performance really touched me ( Tomei too ) and surprised me. He pulls out all the stops for that role. It almost seems like he's acting from personal past experiences.
I was just a tad surprised because you are really up on seeing the buzzed about movies. Especially last year, when I used to log on as annonymous, I think you reviewed every film and performance that was Oscar nominated.
I digress, and would tell people to go see Defiance and then find out more about the story and what happened to the brothers afterward too. It's interesting.
I don't think I mentioned in my review that Liev Schreiber gives his best performance - I was more impressed with Craig because of the nature of his character; I felt he had the more difficult role because he had to both be heroic & demonic as the leader & he pulled it off brilliantly (as far as I was concerned) Liev hasn't been impressive to me in the past, so I look at this film as his turning point to what might become a better career. I disagree completely with the choice of 'Layer Cake' - It was OK, but way too British - I couldn;t understand some of the dialogue they were laying on the accents so thick!
To answer Movieluva's queries - In previous years I was providing reviews for the website where I worked, so I felt 'obligated' to see the Oscar contenders - & for the most part, they were films I had at least some interest in seeing. I've never liked Mickey Rourke & I despise wrassling so the chances of me ever seeing 'The Wrestler' are remote. Losing my job & only being able to find part time work means we don't go downtown where we have the added expense of parking; we only see early bird matinees, or go to the $2-$3 theatres now. Should 'Slumdog' come to the $3 cinema near my house I will see it, but I have an aversion to subtitles which is why I've avoided it. In Defiance, in fact, I couldn't understand why some of the dialogue was in Russian, when everyone else was speaking English!
I have no desire to see 'Revolutionary Road', but my wife does, so we'll see it when it opens wider & I will bash it accordingly...
I thought you go to Lincoln Sqaure Terry ? All the films are playing there.
You know what I have told you about Slumdog. It's not in as much sub-titles as you think. Mostly when the abandoned little brothers from the beginning of the movie. About halfway through it goes to English. I was truly relieved when it did and surprised at how less they were.
I will stick my neck out for The Wrestler though. I don't like/never have, fake wrestling. But this movie is a character study. The wrestling is there but that's almost secondary. It's really about a lost person trying to find his way back into something normal, and the two women he desperatley wants in his life. It's touching performace. I wouldn't lie to ya. Especially when he has to humble himself and work at the local grocery store deli. YOu just shiver with his embarrassment at how far he's gone backward, when fans and collegues see him there.
I can see this scenario. Mickey got the Globe, Sean will nab the SAG ( most respected award ) and Langella will get the Oscar ( career respect )
I know this is a Defiance thread, but it was one of the few film's that touched me this year. Lately, that has been rare.
So... I'm thinking if you didn't like Layer Cake, you really didn't like Snatch ! Ha ! I know I didn't.
And what is the 2-3 dollar movie theater close to your house ?
We go to Lincoln Square when there's something I really want to see because it is a bit of a drive, but they provide free parking. East Valley is just a few miles away from us & they switched to $3 (late in their run) movies when The Landing went up in Renton.
Just for the record, I didn't dislike 'Layer Cake', it was 'ok'. In fact I've always meant to watch it on TV with the CC on so I can catch the lines I didn't understand! You've been touting Slumdog for months & recently The Wrestler & I just don't have a lot of interest in seeing them, esp, the latter. Although I respect your opinion, you love things that I don't - I'm speaking of 'Elegy', a film that made my bottom 10 of 2008. Still 'baffles' me that you enjoyed that!
Now that 'Revolutionary Road' has come to my neck of the woods, we'll see it this weekend & I will rip it to shreds I'm sure...
Thank the lord for the weekend ! I had a long week. I'm spent.
By the way, I didn't love Elegy. I thought a couple performances were good. It's didn't even make my top 25. Either did VCB or RGM.
But regarding the two films I have championed, you know my analogy on films. I'm not saying they're the greatest or whatever, but they are good and well written films. I'd think you'd have to be truly souless not to find The Wrestler a soft touch from the heart. I wouldn't just say those things because I'm not a typically softy kind of guy.
I don't know, there have been several people, family memmbers and co-workers who I told to check them out and all of them liked the movies. Could they be so different from you ?
I mean, could it be such a coincindence, that a lot of people just seemed to have agreed on the consensus, that maybe they are good work ? I mean sometimes movies are universal, where everyone gets it. Not all movies mind you, but usually every year there are a couple of them where a movie gets a general consensus.
There have been themes, or a cast I wasn't so keen about before seeing it and saw the film, and ended up really liking it.
One of my favorite movies of all time did that to me. I wasn't a big Tim Robbins or Morgan Freeman fan. And I was sick of the prison premise movie's. But I was blown away by Shawshank. Wouldn't have expected that by a long shot. They aren't the same kind of movies, but the themes of redemption are the same. Not hard to get behind.
So I guess I get a little perplexed at how you can dislike something before even seeing it.
And I can even remember back at KJR, it seemed if something was liked by the critics and by a lot of people, a lot of times you would go the opposite way.
But what do I know, I have been going to movies every weekend for 30 years, and my favorite movie of all time is The Godfather II, which you think is overrated.
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