The Burning Plain Reviews
What Culture
Deep-seated emotional problems are examined in a complex movie that, as ever with Arriaga, refuses to fit into a straightforward narrative.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
Las Vegas CityLife
Knowing ... that it's a 20-year old story, one can only conclude the idea behind the film would have been best left unfilmed, an unfinished step toward greater things.
Movie Habit
Babel director shows his hand too soon
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
The Australian
When so many cinema releases are instantly forgettable, The Burning Plain clings to the memory...
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/4
Urban Cinefile
A melancholy but also profoundly uplifting film by the talented Guillermo Arriaga. Storytelling is an artform and Arriaga is a master
MovieTime, ABC Radio National
I think Ariaga needs to find another structuring device: this is way too complex, and Arriaga is so busy time-shifting that it takes quite a while to figure out who the characters are, and the way their relationships come together.
Sydney Morning Herald
It's a hard film to love, partly because of its air of deadly seriousness.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
At the Movies (Australia)
Even if the film is a little contrived, it's quite a haunting experience...
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
FILMINK (Australia)
Once it all clicks into place and viewers are left to engage with the characters, the heavy misery and self-importance of the piece becomes overwhelming.
Combustible Celluloid
None of the characters breathe... They're knocked helplessly, lifelessly around in the service of the oh-so-serious story.
Screenwize
Charlize Theron and Kim Bassinger star in an intriguing drama where past and present are brought together to reveal how you can be redeemed through love
Full Review
| Original Score: 4.5/5
rec.arts.movies.reviews
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.
eFilmCritic.com
All of these seemingly disparate stories are related, but Arriaga connects them more slowly than an alert viewer can on his or her own.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It wearily limps along with its joyless obvious tale of loss, guilt and redemption.
Full Review
| Original Score: C
Entertainment Spectrum
Theron continues her string of terrific and daring thespian performances. She lays bare her body and soul in this unforgettable heartbreaking turn.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Laramie Movie Scope
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.
Full Review
| Original Score: B+
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
It lacks whatever Inarritu brought ... something like a joyful playfulness to leaven the dolefulness of Arriaga's literary vision.
Full Review
| Original Score: 87/100
Jam! Movies
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.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Top CriticThrow in enough symbolism to choke an English-lit major and you have a film challenge that too often feels like a chore.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
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.
