Not quite there...

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2009)

Defiance retells a true story from World War II, whereby the three Bielski brothers take responsibility for the welfare of a large number of Jewish refugees by hiding them in the extensive forests in Belorussia.
Think Robin Hood meets Schindler's List.
This film is worthy, but never exacts the same grip on you that Schindler's List did. Perhaps this is due to the forest locations which, while often very beautiful, feel very claustrophobic and hem the movie in. The story merits a more expansive canvas.
The cast are all excellent, particularly Liev Schreiber who shows rather more range than one is accustomed to seeing from him.
I felt my attention begin to think about wandering at around the two thirds mark - there were some soap opera elements which felt a little out of place. And I felt somewhat dissatisfied at never knowing some of the specifics/nuts and bolts of what, after all, was something of a challenging situation - how many people were there all told? How did they organise food preparation? What sort of area was involved? What weapons did they have and where did they get them (Tuvia fails to take weapons from the policeman's house early on, for example). I felt the movie needed more of this and less of Azael making eyes at Chaya etc.
But I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from seeing it - it's a worthwhile movie, and holds your interest (mostly), I was just left feeling that something was missing. But I can't put my finger on what it was.