"The Burning Plain," the little-seen directorial debut of Oscar-nominated screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga ("21 Grams") represents independent filmmaking at its most earnest. Everyone and everything in the film is beautiful and sad, from its bare-faced characters to its desultory settings to its devastating situations. And it works. Mostly.
The ensemble piece, featuring Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, jumps across time and place with varying levels of success. Sylvia (Theron) is a secretive restaurant manager with self-injury issues, while Gina (Basinger) is an unfulfilled housewife (is there any other type of housewife in independent film?) embarking on an interracial affair. Meanwhile, a young Mexican girl witnesses a terrible accident involving her father, and two teenagers forge a tenuous connection in the rubble of a fiery tragedy.
At its best, it's difficult to see why "The Burning Plain" didn't garner more critical attention and praise. The cinematography - evoking the warm tones of Mexico, the blue-filtered crashing waves of Portland, and the almost tangible dryness of Texas - is breathtaking, if a little cliche. The acting is wonderful: Theron doesn't need to gain weight and forgo makeup to radiate a nuanced, haunted intelligence. Basinger, with a face that projects and hides emotion in equal measure, should really have a better career, and the two young adults (Jennifer Lawrence and J.D. Pardo) use minimal dialogue to maximum effect. Hans Zimmer and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's naturalistic guitar score is executed with the utmost care. If the DVD "making of" featurette is to be believed, the director was both meticulous and passionate about the film.
So why wasn't "The Burning Plain" more successful? For one, the film felt twice its 107-minute length, crawling along unbearably at times as the camera lingered too long on an anguished face, ravaged trailer or blouse unbuttoning at a glacial pace. Also, most of the plot twists were predictable, which might have been less of an issue if "The Burning Plain" had moved at a faster pace.
To be sure, Hollywood isn't often friendly to female-driven movies ("Whip It," anyone?). Quite possibly, the film was bogged down with its own heavy subject matter and got lost in the shuffle.
However, "The Burning Plain" is worth watching for its sheer conviction and heart. The film radiates an earnest commitment to telling its story, and even when it doesn't quite hit the mark, the viewer believes.
Movie: 3.5 Yaps Extras: 3 Yaps