We ran the international trailer for a The Burning Plain back in May. Now we get a domestic edit that’s less opaque and more involving without dumbing down the movie’s very smart attitude.
Not surprisingly the script, by writer and first-time director Guillermo Arriaga, is a gem of nuanced interconnections that resonates like a full-bodied orchestral chord instead of the daisy-chain garland of paperclips we get from Arriaga-wannabe Paul Haggis. Arriaga wisely refrains from the more convoluted narrative structures of his previous screenplays that are best handled by more assured directors, but still manages to weave a story for grownups that rings true with the satisfying complexity of real life.
Like The Hurt Locker, The Burning Plain has traveled a tortuous path through a dozen festival initiation rituals before finally finding an opening in theaters (Sept 18). And while it’s not narly as much of a trip-wired high-caliber tour-de-force as The Hurt Locker, it delivers more polish and maturity than 95% of the movies we’ve had to endure during the first half of the year.
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