Ameriatch
One of the best films i have seen
Borgarkeri
A bit overrated, but still an amazing film
Dirtylogy
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
jdrulli-901-448204
This small independent film is a rare gem especially if you like a good southern American Gothic tale. Briar Patch or "Plain Dirty" as it is alternately titled is a rich atmospheric blend of Flannery O'Connor, Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams all thrown into the gumbo pot.One major strength of this film is that avoids the usual redneck clichés. These characters are very real each complete with their own complex pathos transcending their life's conditions whether comfortably rich or dirt poor.Every performance is spot on. The directing and cinematography are lavish and the plot keeps you riveted to the end. Dominique Swain as Inez is by far the star of the film. Her salty Mother Earth mesmerizing charm expands the typical love triangle to a quadrangle. She has two men literally worshiping at her feet while her husband has her literally chained to the bed. Throughout the whole film she becomes progressively more tattered, raged and dirty yet all the while intoxicating and beautiful. The ending is a surprise complete with a wonderful ironic twist well worth the wait.
jotix100
Zev Berman, the director of "Plain Dirty", or "Briar Patch" as it's identified in these pages, takes a big chance in bringing this Deborah Pryor's screen play to the screen. First of all, this is a courageous piece of film making, and the characters in the film don't exactly endear themselves to the viewer. The film is a moody attempt to present us people that are living at the edge of society with basically no redeeming qualities to them, yet, we are hooked into watching the movie until the end, no small feat Zev Berman pulls on his viewers.We were attracted to the movie on the strength of its excellent cast. Henry Thomas is an actor that is always interesting to watch. As Edgar, he is the man obsessed with Inez, a woman he mistreats endlessly. Inez, played by Dominique Swan, makes a good contribution to the film as the girl who can't take any more of the beatings she receives from Edgar. It's clear, from the start, that Flowers is secretly in love with Inez, but being such a sorry sight, knows he can't compete with Dru, the rich guy who wants Inez for himself. Both Artie Verveen and James Urbaniak are right on the money about how they play their characters. Also, Debra Monk, who is seen as the police officer Avon is, as always, excellent.The film sort of hypnotizes the viewer with the cinematography of Scott Kevan and the haunting score by Nathan Barr. While it's clear that this is a not a film for a lot of people, as demonstrated by the many negative comments to this forum, the least one can do is watch it with some degree of respect because the tremendous job by Zev Berman has accomplished with this movie.
samkan
Doesn't deserve the horrible rating the IMDb viewers gave or nor the cold shoulder it otherwise received. Sort of a poor man's Flannery O'Connor shortstory. Almost works as a character study of the poor girl at the center of the picture and, in this regard, I believe that it was the movie's creator(s)' intention not to allow our hillbilly queen to garner our sympathy . Another plus is that the characters appear genuine when they could have easily been allowed to slideinto stereotypes. Holds your interest and maintains pace despite relativelymodest plot. Satisfying to know that this mild, unpretentious entertainment was made with such a modest -possibly nominal - budget. I'm thinking that thenaysayer's just didn't have the patience or humility to enjoy this film.
jbarker71
Really liked the acting and the cinematography of this film. Some real standout performances by Arie Verveen, Henry Thomas, and Dominique Swain. This movie portrayed the grim, gritty and DIRTY lives of these southerners quite realistically. The art direction was quite nice- and i really liked Henry Thomas' shirts- his character had a great sense of fashion, incidentally. I wasn't quite able to really, really get into the story, the pacing was a little slow. It was nice to see the development of the Flowers character by the end, again beautifully acted by Verveen as subtle and low key. I kept waiting for Swain's character to wash her hair and change her bandage but... it worked well for the denouement in the rain. The most striking thing about the film is the cinematography. Some really nice work here.