Defiance
(2008)
For an Ed Zwick film, the director who never knows when to rein
in the earnest proselytising, this is a surprisingly strong showing.
Only
occasionally does his simplistic and somewhat trite sensibility appear amidst
the believably brutal (based on fact) story of Jewish brothers surviving in the
forests of Belarus during WWII. A wedding amidst CGI snow/confetti is intercut
with a fierce battle, and a rousing victory ends the day (of course, this is Hollywood).
Daniel Craig is all
firm-jawed nobility, leaving it to Liev Schreiber to walk away with most scenes
as the confrontational, aggressive sibling. You just know they will reconcile.
Jamie Bell gets the kid part.