From KCRW in Santa Monica, this is The Treatment.

Welcome to The Treatment. I'm Elvis Mitchell. You can also hear the show at KCRW.com.

The film's my guest, director Edwards Wick,

Glory, Courage Under Fire,

The Siege and Blood Diamond,

deal with social conscience. But I think there are films that are really about responsibility

to oneself and to one's community, and his new

film defiance really is proof of that.

Ed, first of all, thanks so much for coming back.

Well, thanks for having me. And I do think that

the films really are all about responsibility.

In a number of films, such as this film,

and Gloria, you kind of used the past as a way to deal with the kind of responsibility

that still falls upon all of us to really bear up under, don't you?

Mm-hmm.

I guess the key is to try to vest that in a character, you know, to place someone in a moment either of transition or of some dilemma, and so that it's a drama of character as much as it's a drama of issues.

But when those things are as stark as they are, I think it can provide for both drama and for some

social commentary.

Well, we should do the bare bones thing we like to do here on the show and have you talk

about the movie in terms of plot for just a moment.

Oh, boy.

All right.

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