VENICE, Italy -- I was walking past the red carpet yesterday and spotted a little bit of sprucing up being done in preparation for the hotly anticipated premiere of "The Burning Plain."

They were getting ready for the film's star Charlize Theron (one of the few big names present at what people are saying is a very low key festival) and director Guillermo Arriaga to walk down it a few hours later.

Post-premiere night glitz, the general Venice consensus on "The Burning Plain" is that while Arriaga may be a talented scriptwriter (penning "Amores Perros," "Babel" and "21 Grams" among others) his directorial debut resorts to some pretty soap opera-ish tactics and if his now trademark deconstructed plot wasn't so cleverly deployed, the film's melodrama would be more obvious.

That said, Charlize Theron and 17 year-old Jennifer Lawrence put in great performances that have tongues wagging about possible "Best Actress" or "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar nominations for them.

Labels: venice film festival