Movie Review: The Burning Plain

DRAMA; M, 1hr 47min
STARRING: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger

Making sense of The Burning Plain is like flying blind at first. But inch-by-inch, links between the characters start to become clear, like images in a photo bath. First off, they're mostly miserable. A crestfallen Theron is self-mutilating restaurateur Sylvia, whose involvement with one of her chefs (John Corbett from Sex and the City) fails to put a smile on her dial. The still-beautiful Basinger, who we learn is Sylvia's mother, is involved in a secret affair with a Mexican man (Joaquim de Almeida) that comes to an explosive end. Since this is revealed early in the piece, much of the remainder plays in higgledy-piggledy flashbacks that relate the consequences for the kids of both families. Needless to say, they're no laugh riot.

Even if you buy into the premise that the sins of the fathers impact on their children in macabre and life-altering ways, it's a despondent scene from writer-director Guillermo Arriaga (the screenwriter behind Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel). For Sylvia, at least, there is a chance to heal. Which everyone is very serious about.

Andiee's Rating: **