good back-story, and good acting

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

It's not really plain dirty it is forever filthy. Even the scenes in the rich guys world are stereotypical Southern sleaze that are darkly lit and dusty with layers of sunlight fighting to get in. The folks all look like they are in desperate need of soap and water. So much so that it distracts scene after scene as the viewer is remotely washing these people from their seats.It is supposedly "realistic" and non Hollywood but to what end. It is so overdone that makeup probably worked overtime and therein it lies. Too much emphasis on the visual and not enough on the motivations or the believability of the characters and plot. It is clichéd and fails to grab hold in the clinch. Even the central murder scene is half-hearted and so low key that it just fails to be of any significance except to say, we are not being exploitive here. We will do that with the muck and mire and the scabs and puss.it has some craft work and is not without worth, but the movie is just too heavy handed. The film falls into the White Trash swamp and never rises and is nothing more than a fantasy for trapped, abused women. But even they are not given the catharsis they need. So it all emerges from the dark and the damp as a not so clever, less than satisfying, story of a girl with grit.

OK, I have strange tastes. That aside, this is an amazing film with an unfortunate title that doesn't give a hint of the quality of the material. Really, those who have a broad background in theatre and cinema will appreciate the beauty and genius of the writing and directing.There are so many strong dramatic elements at play. It draws on the techniques of Shakespeare, Tennesee Williams, Eugene O'Neill. It is also a striking contemporary example of a full blown Greek Tragedy, highlighting the wide spectrum and subtleties of human nature. It deftly plays off opposites showing the dark and light sides of the characters and over the course of the film it clearly reveals the dawning of their understanding and finally the shining light of realization is played out in tragic and symbolic semi-blindness.In my opinion this film is certainly a masterpiece if not a Masterpiece.

I don't usually like romance movies. They drive me up a wall. Same with romance books. But perhaps because this was romantic in a weird way, I did really like it.Swain plays a down-and-out white trash girl in Virginia, married to a creep named Edgar who robs stores to keep themselves afloat. They don't give you a background as to why she ever married this creep, but the bloom has worn off the rose and she just wants to get away from him now.She's in love with a very pale young man who is a lawyer in their small Southern town. He's a big fish in a small pond and more to offer her then she's ever seen in her whole white trash life.Edgar also has a best friend, a guy named "Flowers", for what reason I can't imagine, who hangs around Edgar and his wife all the time. Flowers is infatuated with Inez, Edgar's wife, but she finds him repulsive. He really is, at first--you have to look hard through all the dirt and bad clothing and beard to recognize pretty nice-looking Ari Verveen.Edgar knows Inez is in love with someone else and after a fight, decides to keep her prisoner in her own house by chaining her to her bed at night and to the sofa daily, with Flowers standing guard while Edgar goes and does whatever it is he does.Inez manages to convince Flowers to help her to get away from Edgar by murdering him for her. He doesn't really need a lot of convincing, since he wants her for himself.These people are completely amoral and trashy, but there is still a beautiful kind of poetic romance to Flower's love for Inez. I loved the movie. Even if you hate romances, you may find it great too.

This is one of those films. The kind that stays with you for days. Continues to haunt you with the beauty of its images. Stirs up a chilling current of passion that begs to be released. One of those films that unfurls too much raw beauty not be considered a work of art. "Plain Dirty" is the first feature film (hard to believe) for AFI grad, Director Zev Berman. A rare literary & visual triumph, this film delivers the richness of Southern landscape with a cinematic finery rarely achieved. From the opening title sequence to the last leaf of the Briar Patch, Berman proves himself a true master of detail. Combined with an emotive, suspenseful score, & a playfully sinister aura, "Plain Dirty" beckons us into its Southern Gothic world. This artful tale of true love and murder (never so magically linked) is layered with the nuance of a brilliant, young director. With references to age-old allegories, the language of "Plain Dirty" almost sings with description - thanks to screenwriter, Deborah Pryor. Berman shows the gentle & poetic restraint of a true veteran of cinema and will certainly be one to watch in the next decade of film-making. He seems to make his points in fitful stabs that penetrate your consciousness. But, a nurturer, he is quick to temper the audience's pain with humor - the kind that is born from the tragedy of real life. In this case, Southern life. A charismatic & daring director, Berman also instinctively knows when to leave his audience to its own imagery. He teasingly pans away from a much-anticipated sex scene with Dominique Swain's character, "Inez." A less mature, showy director might have "sold out" for the almost expected flash of flesh. (Particularly with leading lady, Swain, known for her erotic debut in "Lolita.") Instead, one is struck by Berman's control, his ability to whet the audience's appetite. And leave us panting in our seats for more.Berman clearly has tremendous communication with his actors. Under his direction, Swain gives a tour-de-force performance that brings her (thankfully) out of her role as "teeny-bopper sex-film Goddess," and into the realm of serious actor. In "Plain Dirty," she transcends stereotypes with the raw grit and youthful anguish of a respected performer. Emotional territory previously unclaimed by her.The juxtaposition of all of these riveting elements proves startling. And not to be missed. "Plain Dirty" is not only a work of art, but an incredible vehicle to launch Director, Zev Berman, into the forefront of today's film scene. From the likes of Berman, this is only the beginning . . .