Burning Man

Fragments Of A Life: A Powerhouse Performance By Matthew Goode Headlines This Wrenching Australian Drama
When I sat down to view the Australian drama "Burning Man," I had no idea what to expect. I like both Matthew Goode and Rachel Griffiths, but I had never heard of the movie itself. I'm certainly not prone to unnecessary hyperbole (no comments like "greatest movie ever") but, truthfully, this film blew me away. A complete surprise, "Burning Man" may be one of the biggest sleepers of the year and I wonder why it hasn't received more notice stateside. It boasts a career best performance by Matthew Goode. A great character actor, Goode here showcases a fiery passion and raw energy that should be gaining him award attention. He's that good! The movie is structured in a series of fragments that cut back and forth through time. You really do have to pay attention as you try to piece together the narrative timeline. But as the heart of the story starts to come into focus, its poignancy and power really start to resonate. Writer/director Jonathan Teplitzky has assembled the fragments...

A bit less reliance on cinematography and more grunt to story line would have made this a classic
The jury in our house is still out on this one. We agreed it is a well made film and the cinematography is exquisite. We even, although in my case grudgingly, agreed that the narrative worked. You have to concentrate and I mean concentrate to put all the pieces of story, dialogue and image into context to get the whole story. In the end is the story worth the effort. I think so. The theme is not one often taken on by cinema as story-telling and it does not hold back on the emotional punches. So if you like your film viewing to be a challenge, a bit of eye to brain puzzle co-ordination then this could work well for you. Now for the down side. Why do we have to have every movie populated by beautiful (and I mean generally Anglo stereo types of blonde/buxom and well a bit shallow) putting bums on seats sex, tits and eye candy and smouldering blokes with chips on their shoulder and quippy put downs. I guess it sells. But it gets in the way of the meat of being engaged, made to think,...

Loss, anger, and the love of the burning man
Burning Man is a good film. Good acting, good script, good visuals. Emotional, full of loss and anger, then, ultimately, love. Matthew Goode is exceptional here, and he is exceptional in Stoker, and A Single Man, and pretty much every other film he's in.

My dad died roughly a year ago due to cancer, so this film was emotional for me and brought me back to places I didn't want to go, making me feel my own loss and anger. That's life. And Burning Man captures it wonderfully. Film: 4 out of 5 stars.

The DVD has good Video and Audio, at least as good as a DVD can, but a Blu-ray would be nice. Video/Audio: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Rating: Not Rated, likely Rated R. Strong Language throughout. Strong Thematic Material might be too emotional for some viewers. Sexual content and Nudity in several scenes. Ages 17 and up.

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