Burning Palms (2010)

A subversive tale that interlaces five stories set in Los Angeles, where no taboo is left unexplored as each character careens toward a dark and often comic fate.

Director:

Christopher Landon

Writer:

Christopher Landon

Stars:

Jamie Chung, Rosamund Pike, Dylan McDermott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Chung	...	Ginny
Rosamund Pike	...	Dedra
Dylan McDermott	...	Dennis Marx
Shannen Doherty	...	Dr. Shelly
Zoe Saldana	...	Sarah Cotton
Nick Stahl	...	Robert Kane
Robert Hoffman	...	Chad Bower
Paz Vega	...	Blanca Juarez
Peter Macdissi	...	Gerry
Anson Mount	...	Tom
Emily Meade	...	Chloe Marx
Lake Bell	...	Mary Jane
Tiara McKinney	...	Mahogany
Adriana Barraza	...	Louisa Alvarez
Jake Austin Walker	...	Trevor

Storyline

In Santa Monica, a woman becomes alarmingly concerned over her fiancé's unnaturally close relationship with his teenage daughter. In Westwood, a sexual act turns into a psychological obsession for a young woman. In West Hollywood, a gay couple buys a young daughter and attempts to mold her to fit their lifestyle. In Holmby Hills, maladjusted kids and their equally maladjusted nanny play murderous games. In Sherman Oaks, a rape victim faces her violator. In these five stories, one thing is clear, everything is taken to extremes in California.

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Plot Keywords:

kangaroo court | rape | rape victim | maid | gay couple | 

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Taglines:

Five Tales That Will F#%! You Up For Life

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence including a rape, language and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films In Motion

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"EPIC"
Written by Taylor Renee Lindersmith, Ashanti MT Jenkins, Kyle James Bluff, Christopher C. Jenkins and Griffin Boice
Performed by My Hero
Courtesy of My Hero and Soul Surfer Records
By Arrangement with Artists First Music

User Reviews

5 stories that will mess you up for life...

...was the tagline for this flick, so it caught my interest. Burning Palms is a film that tries to push boundaries and would only upset tight conservative folk. It seems to try too hard and comes off a bit juvenile. There are 5 stories, they act as their own stories and do not interconnect with one another as some ads might say. They are told from a comic book, a tales from the crypt style thing, minus the hilarious Crypt Keeper.

The first deals with a couple who are getting married. The husband to be is seeing his daughter for a week, she is flying down from wherever she was. Innocent enough, until you find out that the relationship between the two is a little too close for comfort. They openly talk about sex, sunbath nude and dance erotically. The soon to be wife is taken back and tries to get the the bottom of the "relationship".

The second deals with a couple in college or university. He loves big boobs, she has small ones/ During sex, the man asks the girlfriend to stick her finger in his anus. She does so because she doesn't want to lose him to a bigger chested woman. After the act, she gets it stuck in her mind that her finger smells like poo, so she scrubs and scrubs until she finally decides to cut the finger off.

The third story has two gay men adopting a black child from the black market. She seems to be straight out of Africa because she doesn't say a single word to anyone, yet grabs a spear and throws it at an animal and growls. Thinking they are over their heads with a child, they leave her alone in the woods and get a dog instead.

The fourth story is the least exciting one. Three young and spoiled boys hold a "Court TV" bit in their house when a valuable item from the housemaid goes missing. We discover a dark secret from the housemaids past that turns things upside down in the house. Their stoner babysitter laughs at the sticky situation.

The final and last segment actually happens to be my favourite, and the one redeeming factor in this film. The story opens with the Rape of Sarah. After the rapist flees, she finds his wallet under her couch and decides to track him down. When she does, he soon finds out she has some sick and disturbing plans of her own.

The final segment with have one thinking of a rape revenge bit, but that's where the story wants you to go and the direction it takes itself is something I applaud. I was surprisingly taken back at the last one and it had the best performance. It helps that the two leads were Zoe Saldana and Nick Stahl.

Overall, a lackluster film that wants to be more 'dirty' than it actually is. Who knows, maybe I'm one demoralized sicko and this film actually is twisted. But if you've seen half the films I have, you'll find this pretty tame and immature.