A dreary mess directed and written by Guillermo Arriaga. Since it is Arriaga's first directing assignment, he can only blame his screenwriter for this uninvolving melodrama.
Comment
11/13/09
The Burning Plain (2009)
31
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:61
Fresh:19
Rotten:42
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: This heavily symbolic, melodramatic multi-narrative drama lacks emotional resonance.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jun 15, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $58,749
Synopsis: From Guillermo Arriaga, the internationally acclaimed writer of Babel, 21 Grams and Amores Perros, comes THE BURNING PLAIN, a romantic mystery about a woman on the edge who takes an emotional... [More]
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, John Corbett, Joaquim de Almeida
Director: Guillermo Arriaga
Reviews for The Burning Plain
All of these seemingly disparate stories are related, but Arriaga connects them more slowly than an alert viewer can on his or her own.
10/29/09
It wearily limps along with its joyless obvious tale of loss, guilt and redemption.
10/26/09
Theron continues her string of terrific and daring thespian performances. She lays bare her body and soul in this unforgettable heartbreaking turn.
10/24/09
The film isn't entirely believable in some places, but I did admire the skill of the storytelling and the neat way all the pieces come together.
10/23/09
It lacks whatever Inarritu brought ... something like a joyful playfulness to leaven the dolefulness of Arriaga's literary vision.
10/18/09
Just because a movie has over-sexed blonds, lusty teens, roasted birds, a fire, a plane crash, self-mutilation and Charlize Theron's breasts doesn't mean it won't be bad. But it shouldn't be boring.
10/16/09
The burning is mostly on the plain, not in this labyrinthine story.
10/16/09
Throw in enough symbolism to choke an English-lit major and you have a film challenge that too often feels like a chore.
10/16/09
If Arriaga had allowed us to spend more time with the key characters in this extended tragedy, or had spent some time punching up the plot, The Burning Plain might have had a chance.
10/16/09
Arriaga just sets his cast on mope, with nary a smile present, and the actors slog through the misery as best they can.
10/07/09
Suggestions of a potential smash keep the audience hoping this film will come together but in the end it is too much and too little.
10/04/09
Possibly the stories fit too neatly. If so, it's hardly a fatal flaw.
10/02/09
This undocumented north of the border crossing in reverse romantic drama, likewise crosses borders in a kind of Americanization of the telenovela, with mixed results.
09/27/09
The Burning Plain is missing a surprising and compelling story that packs an emotional punch, so Arriaga uses his signature style to distract you in the same way a magician would use the old sleight of hand practice.
09/25/09
It's serious stuff, intended for serious movie people. The only problem is, serious movie people have already been there, done that.
09/25/09
The result is confusion, not catharsis.
09/25/09
Arriaga bounces around in time and space, a strategy that seems intended to demonstrate his own complexity rather than to serve the story.
09/25/09
To its credit, The Burning Plain grapples with some of the big questions human beings face, but its reach exceeds its grasp.
09/25/09
The film is strikingly photographed and intensely acted, but the tone is overwrought melodrama.
09/25/09
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