Rating of
3/4
"The Defiant Ones" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/10/12
Two convicts, one black and one white, escape from a chain gang in the deep south and find they have more in common than they first thought. Having a racist and a black man chained together and having to co-operate to evade their captors is hardly a subtle allegory for racial tension but thanks to some intelligent writing and good dialogue The Defiant Ones makes for a far more interesting story about breaking down the barriers between creeds and colours than the usual heavy handed touchy-feely nonsense you'd expect from Hollywood. The characters feel a lot more genuine than the usual racial stereotypes; if it were made today, it would no doubt have Curtis' character as a pantomime villain and Denzel as some kind of behaloed, saintly innocent man who consistently turns the other cheek. Instead we have two men who've both had the sh*t end of the stick, Curtis' racism a product of his failure to question an unjust system and Poitier is a proud and angry man who is tired of never being given an even shake. The two of course have to put their differences aside to struggle together against capture and the plot and character development doesn't feel 100% convincing as it seems to exist to help get the message across rather than create believable drama. The use of music is also very odd, the pursuers having some kind of jazz swing theme tune every time they appear on screen and Poitier's singing voice is..."different". The two have real chemistry together though, and this well intentioned and tensely paced film has stood the test of time rather well.
