Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A trailer is burning in the middle of a plain. The bodies of two adulterous lovers are found. Scenes from both families, before and after the dramatic events, suggest an unusual connection between them. But what is their secret?
The Burning Plain features a fragmented, non-linear narrative structure that keeps viewers engaged in piecing together its puzzle, and Guillermo Arriaga's screenplay (his directorial debut) benefits from his Babel/Amores Perros pedigree. Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger deliver committed performances, though the ensemble is uneven. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is genuinely striking, capturing the desolate New Mexico and Oregon landscapes with real visual poetry. The film's novelty is moderate — the intersecting timelines feel somewhat familiar from Arriaga's prior collaborations with Iñárritu. The ending, however, struggles to deliver the emotional payoff its complex structure promises, feeling somewhat flat and unearned given the buildup.