In mob movies, a boss’ soldiers do what they’re told out of loyalty to family and without question unless they go after your family. In Patrick Lazzara’s crime thriller, Burn, Max (Patrick Lazzara) is a hitman summoned to a clandestine meeting in the middle of the desert with fellow hitman Seth (John Fava).
Seth tells Max that he just received a contract on Max’s brother’s life, Vince (Eric Stayberg). Vince has been having an affair with Laurel (Dawn Barber), the wife of their boss Gino Pinero (Donnie Blankenship). When she tried to end the relationship, he ended her life. As a courtesy, Seth gives Max two days to set things right before going through with the contract. Then, like the resourceful hitman that Seth is, he tells Max where Vince is holed up.
When Max shows up at Vince’s motel room, the two engage in some serious familial dysfunction. The distraught Vince just wants to end it all, and Max feels obligated to save his brother’s life. We discover, through flashbacks, that Max and Laurel were quite close, so this is more personal than just shared blood. Can Max save Vince’s life, or are they both already burned?
Burn plays out more like a drama than the crime thriller we usually associate with mafia movies. The majority of the action consists of tense conversations and secret meetings. Much of the violent action happens near the end as all the secrets and lies come to a head. I mention this because, typically, gangster films are like a concerto of violence with several bursts of murder and mayhem before the final setpiece. Here, we get just the violent conclusion.
“Seth tells Max that he just received a contract on Max’s brother’s life, Vince…”
Fortunately, the drama is able to sustain itself to the ending. Lazzara’s script explores all the emotions one experiences as a soldier — almost slave — to the boss. Max experiences that trapped feeling of indebtedness to Gino. He then finds a moment of calm before the storm thanks to his comrade Seth, which quickly turns to anxiety as he has to figure out how to save his brother. But there are more dark clouds hanging over him as Max is forced to reckon with Vince’s actions, making him distraught.
I’ve already mentioned the main weakness of Burn. It needs a lot more violence spread throughout to make it feel like a crime thriller. We know all too well violence is expensive, and for low-budget films, you’ve got to spend that money on those critical moments. I’m confident with a bigger budget there would have been an expensive chase scene, more examples of Max and Seth as brutal killers, and more than the requisite rounds of gunfire to reach Godfather levels.
In lieu of violence, Lazzara maintains the suspense through his story and performance. Fava is equally good as the killer, who still follows a code of brotherhood. As Max, he walks that line between honor and brutality, which is exactly what that character needs. Dawn Barber and Eric Stayberg give nuanced portrayals playing dichotomous characters that need to stay true to their core being.
Yes, one doesn’t need excessive amounts of violence to tell a mob story, but at the same time, we notice it when it isn’t there. So while Burn doesn’t exactly give us the gangster story we’re accustomed to, we do get a character drama worth taking this adventure for.
For screening information, visit Burn’s official Facebook page.
"…maintains the suspense through his story and performance."
