The Burning Plain

THE BURNING PLAIN (2008) - Sept. 7, 2008
This is the directorial debut of Guillermo Arriaga, and while it is certainly a good film, coming from the man who helped bring us stuff like Amores Perros and 21 Grams, this can't help but feel like a bit of a disappointment, or at least a minor work. Arriaga shows a sure hand directorially, and wisely avoids handheld camerawork, presumably in an effort to distance himself stylistically from his former partner, Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film features the type of fractured narrative that Arriaga has made his name with, and is filled with very strong performances. It doesn't have the same kind of scope as some of his previous films, but as a smaller-scale, more low-key drama it works very well. I do have to question Arriaga's choice to withhold key information until almost the end of the film -- while it is a pretty nifty twist (and one I didn't see coming at all), the viewer's understanding of the characters and their motivations would have been enhanced by having all the information from the get-go. As it stands, it's the type of thing where you really have to see the film again, as many of the characters are put in a whole new light. ***