Customer Reviews

The Burning Plain

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The directorial debut of Guillermo Arriaga, screenwriter of 21 grams and Babel, is a tortured piece of work. Rather like its characters, it is beautiful to look at but bleak as we come to understand it. Thankfully, we are left with a message of hope, but it's a fragmented journey getting there as we experience love as it evolves not just through joy and happiness but through pain and scars.
It's one of those multi-stranded stories Arriaga specialises in... except this time, it is not always different characters we are observing - it's the same ones, in different times. One strand with Kim Basinger, involves a married woman, sneaking off from her empty marriage at lunchtime to her lover, in a trailer on a plain. It's this trailer on fire which gives the film its title. Then, there is the teenage daughter who has her own secrets and is drawn to the young Mexican man who she meets at his father's funeral. Finally, Charlize Theron plays the beautiful restaurateur, who away from the style and poise of her role at work, seeks empty sex and self inflicted wounds.. what pain is she trying to hide? Does the answer lie in the Mexican man who follows her? If the strands don't stand fully composed as short stories in their own right, it's because they rely on each other.. so that the performance of one actress relies on notes set up by another. It's a typically convoluted piece of writing by Arriega. A final point, and this is where critics were on the whole less than kind, is that for much of the movie it is frustratingly ambiguous who is who and in what time, until gradually the picture becomes clear. It's a tangled story for the most part, and if you dislike activating your brain cells, then steer clear. In the end, the story is actually quite slight.. and yet it has some depth of feeling, scraping underneath the characters surface instead of adding layers onto them. It might not have much to say, and the characters may not always be endearing, but it is nonetheless thought provoking and beautifully shot in sparsely filled though elegantly framed widescreen. Frankly I found it more satisfying than the more star-studded and acclaimed Babel. Certainly, the performances from the three leads: Theron, Basinger and relative newcomer Jennifer Lawrence are utterly outstanding. There is no grandstanding here.. just terrific understated turns from some of Hollywood's best.
If bleak cinema and tragic characters are your thing, then step right in. If it's action or easy moral certainties you seek.. move along, there's nothing for you here.

I have enjoyed the work of Guillermo Arriage, including Babel and 21 Grams. However, Arriage uses the same technique with 'The Burning Plain, as he did in 'Babel,' which for me can be confusing, at times, and not a preferred methodology for most viewers. Here again, we are faced with current time, running parallel with a significant amount of back-story, and a multitude of characters that initially seem disconnected. It took me a while to realize what was going on. I should have had a clue, from Babel. Finally the stories began to converge---rather flawlessly, so it was well worth the patience required. In fact, in some respects, I think it was better constructed than Babel, in tying up loose ends.

Be warned, this (107 min) R-rated, romantic, mystery/drama, will not be for everyone. It is not action driven, aside from some self-mutilating behaviors, sensual scenes with nudity, and a trailer blowing up. It is not filled with gratuitous violence, awesome CGI, or other big-box-office, draw themes, although the filming is lovely. Instead, it is a slow paced, deep character study involving three wounded female leads, Theron being the primary protagonist. It is about an illicit love affair(Basinger) and the dark web surrounding omissions of truth---the escalating lies. It is about the irrevocable psychic damage that can be done, when youth is the witness to adults breaking the rules and threatening their security. It is about an ego destroyed and on the path of self destruction. It is about stopping cutting, just to feel alive, and opening up for love and forgiveness. It is about redemption.

I loved the psychological dynamics of this movie and thought they were well developed. Having personally worked with 'cutters' for many years, I felt Theron did justice to the self-destructive, emotionally sterile angst of those who must cut, to feel momentarily alive; how they are driven to match their internal scars with external ones. And, Basinger was so well suited to the role of the lonely, timid wife, struggling with an altered body image, who could easily be seen driven into the arms of another man, at whatever cost. The premise is not very original; these are issues that have, and do, happen every day, but, even so, they will evoke many thoughts and feelings within the sensitive viewer. In a word, it is 'powerful!'

This was a rental for me. I don't think I would like to own this movie. Seeing it once was painful enough, but I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. Without reservation, I recommend this film to all serious movie devotees, who enjoy deep, dark, psychologically oriented films, with stellar performances.

Guillermo Arriaga's rotating perspective narrative works best in this tidy drama concerning family, relationships, regrets and two generations of risky sex. The acting, writing and directing are a sensual feast that looks good, sounds good and feels very good after some intrigue. With a lot to see and hear in less that two hours; the out of sequence details weave their way into crystal clarity.
Han Zimmer and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez score hypnotic scenes from the desert to the ocean. The writer has earth, wind, fire and water in mind for the characters, actions and settings; but you can take it as heady soaper.
Like Cubism or string theory; this movie challenges and rewards. Most critics didn't like it in comparison to Arriaga's Babel. Enjoy it and the edge on them. Maybe it has too many notes.
Beautifully filmed; Great BD A/V

"The Burning Plain" simmers slowly, transcending time and space, weaving back and forth chronologically to tell a tale of such pain and grief that it is truly heartbreaking to watch. The incredibly talented Charlize Theron plays Sylvia, a restaurant hostess somewhere in Oregon, who walks dazedly through life, exorcising her inner demons through casual, indiscriminate sex. There's a strange guy (Jose Maria Yazpik) who seems to be stalking her. Then in another strand, there's a discontented housewife (Kim Basinger) who is having an affair with a married man (Joaquim de Almeida). A tragedy ensues, lives are thrown off balance and viewers are left to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I love this method of storytelling (from the same guy who gave us Babel and Amores Perros) and putting things together step by step, though I did manage to 'solve' the dark mystery harbored by Charlize Theron early on in the story. The talented cast, including young actors J.D. Pardo and Jennifer Lawrence who play teenage lovers brought together as a result of the tragedy, deliver finely nuanced performances that elicit viewer's empathy. Nothing is black and white - what initially appear to be flawed and immoral characters are revealed to have surprising depth. This is a movie that slowly engages the viewer's attention and once it does, it takes full grip and never lets go till the final scene.

Here is a movie that seems clearly indebted to John Sayles' "Lone Star". It shares the same kind of elliptical story line, and generation-spanning themes of forbidden love, racial and sexual taboos, tragedy, guilt and redemption . It even has a musical score featuring heavily reverbed alt-country guitar.

It's such a beautifully shot and constructed film that it is hard to isolate the things that undermine it. Maybe it comes down to this: too many motifs weaving in and out, too many empty symbols. It's like a symphony by a composer who hits all the right notes, but doesn't succeed in creating a living work that truly breathes.

I still recommend watching it... if for nothing more in that it's one of Charlize Theron's best "turns" as an actress, and for the wonderful cinematography.

The Burning Plain starring Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger is a very interesting drama from start to finish. Theron really shines in this film, she shows remarkable emotional depth as Sylvia, a woman who suffers from depression and a secret she has carried since she was a teenager. This film is non-linear which I love, three different stories that somehow connect through time and distance. The Burning Plain is an amazing film, I highly recommend it! Enjoy.

Burning Plain is a testament to Charlize Theron's first class acting abilities. She is able to draw the viewers in completely, and make them wonder about the dark past her character (Sylvia) is hiding. She is just a joy to watch. While Kim Basinger delivers a solid and at times heart-wrenching performance, I still found her to be somewhat miscast in her role as a truck driver's wife. In my opinion she came across as too upscale to be believable, more like a cast member of Desperate Housewives, without the humor. Jennifer Lawrence as Mariana is exquisite and is a crucial part to the haunting quality of this movie.

The film's approach to telling its story is interesting and maybe a bit confusing at first. A large part of the story plays in the past (underscored by those scenes having been filmed with a slight yellow tint, as if looking at aging home video), and the movie jumps frequently between the past and the present as well as between locations. But once the viewer has figured it out, it is easy to follow the individual threads.

If I have one complaint it is that the ending is a bit too feel-good. I simply doubt that a person with Sylvia's past and habits could in the end succeed at successfully turning the page for good. While the movie doesn't explicitly spell it out, this is what the last scene implies. But maybe this was intentionally done by the director, exactly to make the audience wonder about the outcome of it all in the end.

Be that as it may, all in all I really enjoyed this movie and the entire cast's stellar performances.

Bottom-Line: Long after "The Burning Plain" was over the movie clung to my mind and tugged at my soul.

A movie minus guns, bullets, bombs, aliens, and blood is a rarity these days, at least in American cinema, so when a real human drama shows up naturally I am intrigued. "The Burning Plain" (2008) staring Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Joaquim de Almeida, and Jennifer Lawrence is one such movie.

The Story

Written and directed by Guillero Arriaga (21 Grams), The Burning Plain opens on the bedroom of Sylvia (Theron ~ Monster, The Devil's Advocate, Aeon Flux) as she rises naked from her bed, lights a cigarette and proceeds to stand fully unclothed in front of her bedroom window in the early morning light was a gaggle of school children pass by and gawk, but she seems not to notice or care. And in that first few moments of this opening scene we know that Sylvia is a lost soul, a person without a purpose, searching for something, anything to make her feel...human.

Lying in her bed watching her that morning is her married lover John (John Corbett ~ Northern Exposure); they both work at a local up-scale restaurant; she as a hostess and he is a chef she is doing, but he is not the only one. The setting is a small town on the coast of Oregon.

Cut to New Mexico (and back in time 13 years) wherein we meet two brothers who are grieving over the death of their father Nick Martinez (Almeida ~ Desperado) who recently died in a horrible trailer fire. Soon after there is a funeral for the other person who died in the fire a local woman named Gina (Basinger ~ L.A. Confidential) who we learn he was having an affair with.

At the end of that funeral one of the brother's, Santiago (JD Pardo) follows 15-year Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence ~ Winter's Bone), Gina's daughter, to the local grocery store and the two strike up a friendship that eventually turns intimate. Mariana's father Robert (Brett Cullen ~ Ghost Rider) is a trucker who spends far too much time away from home. As the story unwinds we learn that when he is home he rejects his wife, Gina, who recently survived breast cancer, all but pushing her into the arms of Nick.

Meanwhile back to the present Santiago (Danny Pino ~ Cold Case) is hurt is a plane crash and sends his brother Carlos (Jose Maria Yazpik ~ Innocent Voices) and his 12-year old daughter Ana (Tessa Ia) off to America to find Sophie's mother...

And back in New Mexico (and back 13 years) we learn in flashbacks that Mariana found out about her mother's affair having followed her more than once to the trailer where she and Nick met...Mariana and Santiago's relationship turns sexual and she becomes pregnant. She wants to have an abortion, but after Mariana's father finds out about their affair they flee to Mexico where Mariana gives birth.

My Thoughts

At first The Burning Plain, like all movies that shift back and forth through time, was hard to follow, certainly since there were flashbacks accompanying the frequent dives in time. The plot really consisted of three stories, but they all coalesce towards the middle of the movie making the story take on new interest.

The Burning Plain is well written directed and acted. This is one of Charlize Theron's better movies (she was also one of the producers). She shines when she is portraying a woman on the edge, a broken, anguished person trying to gather up the pieces and complete the whole.

I love the more mature Kim Basinger; her recent movies have been much deeper and more challenging than those in her early career. If anything she has become even more beautiful and her roles more meaningful. Jennifer Lawrence is a wonderful actress and with each role she gets better and better. Her portrayal was magical and full of emotion and depth!

The Burning Plain is a seriuos movie intended for a more mature audience that won't mind taking the time to watch it unfold. The movie has echoes of another Arriaga penned movie, 21 Grams, in its time weaving motif and raw, bare-knuckled story telling. In The Burning Plain, Arriaga manages to keeps his seesawing plot under control, although like I stated above you can guess where it's going. As in any drama worth its salt, things are relentlessly dismal, people get hurt, and lives fall apart all without tracer rounds, loud explosions, or contrails!

Long after "The Burning Plain" was over the movie clung to my mind and tugged at my soul. I wanted to see it again (and did) because the story and performances were just so compelling.

This was an okay movie but I was always waiting for the "good" or "great" part of it. The narrative jumped around (on purpose) and you didn't get much depth to any piece of it. It just left you barely satisfied but wishing it was something more.

`The Burning Plain' tells the dark and dangerous story of a young woman named Sylvia, who is battling memories of a tragic incident that took place while she was a teen. This story, told in four parts, is rich with character development and pure insight on the process of pain, and forgiveness. While those stories can at times become a tad confusing (bouncing from teen love, an adulterous affair, a clinically depressed woman and then a father/daughter accident storyline can get a little too garbled for its own good) they truly work out a beautifully told story in the end, one that highlights the tragic aftermath of poor decisions and the cooling power of atonement. The film is also packed with marvelous performances. Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger and Jennifer Lawrence are all spectacular. Theron attacks her character's growing pain with sharp rawness. Basinger trembles with aching realism as she contemplates her actions and Lawrence, far more natural and organic here than in her Oscar nominated role in `Winter's Bone', is a marvelous portrait of teen misunderstanding. The story is heartbreaking and yet, that final frame encapsulates all the hope needed to give a more tender and realistic `happy-ending'. And that score is just superb!