Slow Burn

As a Minnie Driver fan, I couldn't believe the tawdry disaster unfolded in the telling of "Slow Burn." Produced in part by Two Drivers (Minnie and her sister, Kate), it gives the impression of two intelligent women based on self-destruction. For three generations, Minnie's forebears have been consumed with the search for her grandmother's remains, and with it, the diamonds with which she disappeared into the desert so many years ago. It has consumed all of Trina's (Driver's) life, from infancy into young womanhood. Now, only Trina and her older mentor (and Mom's former lover) are left. Trina has promised that this will be her final year of searching. After this season, she'll throw in the towel. Two bumbling escaped convicts, one a bit dim (but basically of good heart) - the other given to apparant glimpses of insight between fits of pique, literally stagger upon what three generations of desert veterans have been unable to find. One of the cons is played by James Spader, and I swear I didn't recognize him. (As Martha Stuart might say [as far as a career move is concerned], "This is a good thing." His agent would agree. In short, there are disabled trucks with runaway tendencies. Said trucks seem to appear meaningfully late in the movie, almost cluttering the set ... despite their mechanical devastations. With trucks like these, "OK! I'll take the kids!" There's a sterility in interpersonal relationships that makes evem Driver's character appear to be a cardboard cut out. Is this love in bloom, or heatstroke. There's even a touch of 'Marathon Man" here, for those with expensive "tastes." The premise should have been developed into a taut thriller. However, neither the viewer seeking justice nor the sophisticate in search of irony comes away satisfied. There's a lovely and colorful little bird to win your heart; but this is not the bird director Chrisyian Ford delivers to paying audiences. "Is it safe?" to see "Slow Burn?" Only if it's free and you're desperate for seeing Minnie Driver on the big screen.

Beautiful scenery, including Minnie Driver, but not much else. She remains striking while all the other males in the cast have their skin fall off due to the climate. This movie is clearly a ripoff of the classic "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", merely substituting diamonds for gold dust. I never could understand the relationships between the characters. Why did she not bolt at the first opportunity, or sleep with one of them? (Either answer would have made more sense than the plot line.)There wan't anyone to root FOR. A hero or heroine would have been nice!

I will not spend time dissecting each action and try to compare this to a combination of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948), and "Legend of the Lost" (1957).

Trina (Minnie Driver) is treasure hunting at any cost. The treasure is a hoard of diamonds that used to belong to her grandmother. We see why through a series of flashbacks. Diamonds exchange hands a few times.

This film stands on its own as a slow-paced (which gives sagacity) interaction of cunning minds in a desolate area vying for a prize more important than the other person. You have seen it before, and you will see it again; so, sit back and enjoy this variation.

The plot is not what brings your focus to bear with this film - it is the absolutely horrible acting performances of the players. James Spader's agent should spend significant resources to pass the rumour that he didn't have a part in this film (he's practically unrecognizable anyway); Minnie Driver's contribution is in the body part only league; and Josh Brolin should not give up his day job. In particular, the language accents taken on by Driver & Brolin are forced, stereotypical, and false. In fact, for me, the disastrous lack of some kind of sanity in the plotline coupled with loser performances of Driver and Brolin made the desert scenes the most interesting part of the film. Spader is a fine actor who just doesn't need this kind of drivel on his record. Scale of 0-10: a 2 for Spader and the desert scenes.

...how many reviewers are unfamiliar with GREED, an engrossing and fascinating film that many critics list in their all-time top ten. This film is a blatant tribute to that film and the book it's based on. Among the many clues are the setting, the characters' names (Marcus, Trina, McTeague, Frank Norris (!!)), the theme, and probably many more things that I've missed. To all who are reading this, please immediately make plans to see GREED by Erich Von Stroheim, the Man You Love to Hate, and the butler from SUNSET BOULEVARD! To be a serious movie-watcher and not to have seen it, is like being interested in drama and having never read Shakespeare.