Defiance

What to make of Daniel Craig? He's helmed the successful reboot of the movie industry's most venerated franchise. He's starred in an indie darling. He's done fine supporting work in an Oscar-caliber film . So do we have Steve McQueen 2.0? Or is he just another square-jawed tough that never seems to rise above the material at hand? His movies make money, but it isn't yet clear whether he's smart about the projects he picks or if he's a face that can pack a theater all on its own. 

Craig is good in Defiance, the third of the World War II-tinged movies this Oscar season. He carries a little flame of humanity and conflict behind his eyes, which is all you can ask of a guy with Craig's face. If he does succeed as a star with drawing power, it'll be because he can do more than look rugged and handsome, which he does here.

Beyond Craig, however, there's not so much going on for Defiance. The film's direction and editing turns an incredible true story of hardship and survival into a sloppy action flick that at times has a little soul. There's barely time to register the character's names before they are already taking on the homeless and infirmed in the woods. In the first reel, two brothers, Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael Bielski (Jamie Bell is Billy Elliot fame) come home to find their parents killed by the Germans, discover a third, younger brother, Aron, (George MacKay)  hiding under the floorboards of the house, and head out into the woods, where a fourth , long-lost brother (Craig's Tuvia) tracks them down. The third brother goes wandering off and comes back with a small dentist office's worth of sick and scared Jews who have also fled from the Nazi slaughter in the villages. A decision is made then and there to keep and feed these stragglers.

In short, it's a mess. Tuvia's return is completely unexplained until much later in the film, and even then there's no confirmation; just hints at a tragic separation. The leadership of Tuvia and Zus is just assumed by everyone else in the forest. The entire first act is rushed and the film suffers for it. Tuvia's return to town to kill his parents' killers carries no emotional heft. His immediate disapproval of Zus' demands to form raiding parties comes immediately after the killings. Had the previous scene been given room to breathe, Tuvia's disapproval at more violence would have made more sense.

The raids do nothing but lead to camp members dying, and to increased attention by the Germans. The camp is forced to uproot and move deeper into the forest. Now come the Belarusian resistance fighters, who are none to pleased to find milk thieves and hungry, sick folk as their new neighbors in the metropolis-like forest. An uneasy peace is made.

As time passes, the hot-headed Zus becomes more and more disenchanted with the passive existence of the camp and the heavy-handed rule of his brother. He and other able-bodied men walk off and join the resistance fighters. The schism, some hour into the movie, finally gives a narrative drive to the project. Is it cowardice to hide in the forest? Is it worth fighting with allies who still hate you and your people? Is survival, in and of itself, the best revenge? To his credit, director Edward Zwick asks difficult questions and does not provide easy answers. The brothers' checkered past is not hidden, and their autocratic tendencies are uncomfortable to watch, even in the service of such great good. If only Zwick had done a better job of presenting the questions.

Schreiber does what he usually does: Lend structure and support with strong character work. He delivers Zus as a ill-tempered man who strives to meet his noble goals with less-than-noble tactics. His scenes with Craig and Ball carry the distinct flavor of a brother who wants, but doesn't always get, his way.

The film does not hide the Jewishness of the characters. Beaten down, starving and forced to live in makeshift cabins in the woods, the camp members still retain their cultural integrity. There's a wedding, complete with Chuppah and Horah . Camp elder Shamon Haretz (Allan Corduner) teaches the Talmud to the children. The scenes give the camp a sense of place and camaraderie, so the inevitable fissions and splintering takes on the weight of true separation. 

It also justifies a lot of the symbolism in the camp's second and final flight. After losing a few too many soldiers to the forest dwellers, the Germans send a full company to find and eradicate the camp. Tuvia leads the camp's feeling members to the edge of the forest, where they are confronted with miles of bog and a river. Tuvia has become Moses leading his people out of bondage and toward freedom. Shamon, now too sick, is carried at shoulder-height on a stretcher like the bones of Joseph coming out of Egypt.

This being Hollywood, of course, it isn't the promised land on the other side of the water. In the end, there's a bit too much Hollywood in the film, which drowns out the Bielski Brothers' story. Maybe Zwick was worried about the film's length, which was already over two hours, but a little more patience at the beginning would have made the film worthy of the story it tells. Instead, wait to rent Defiance.