It wouldn't be so bad if it were genuinely dirty but it's not. It's just plain muddy. Okay, Dominique Swain, not unpleasant to the view, is married to this young abusive redneck. They live in a tumble-down shack in the Southern swamps where Billy Joe or Edgar or whatever his name is ekes out a living by growing marijuana -- the swine. He has the social skills of a bar room bouncer. He throws his petite wife around as if she were a sack of sweet potatoes and he's mean and crusty towards his bearded handyman, whose brain has only recently emerged from the primordial ooze.Swain's name is Inez MacBeth, for reasons I can't figure out. She's in love with a rich guy from the neighboring town. She sneaks off to boff him and talk to him about their running away together to the big, sophisticated city of Richmond, Virginia, where, one supposes, they can worship at the Confederate Museum. The rich guy dresses smoothly and treats her well. He loves her for her coarseness. But he's not really interested in running away from the Big House, especially with a married teen ager.What's a girl to do? What this one does is, between episodes with the rich guy, schtupp the bearded handyman in order to influence him in persuading her husband to give her up for the rich guy. Something like that. I think I nodded out from time to time. He apparently misunderstands her the way the murderers misunderstood Henry IV when he moaned, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" I either didn't notice the ending or have ablated it from my consciousness. Mostly what I remember is the mud. People go around barefoot, dressed in rags, and slop around in mud. They're all pale, and the flecks of loam stand out on their flesh like some kind of skin eruption. There is no sunlight to speak of.Best performances: Karen Allen as a wiccan and Debra Monk as the sheriff. Dominique Swain's breakthrough role was in Adrian Lyne's "Lolita," where she was physically fine, if a bit overdone for a twelve-year-old. Her acting was that of an amateur rather than a seasoned performer, though not as heart-breakingly inadequate as that of Sue Lyons in Kubrick's version of the same novel. There's no sex or nudity in this film but none of the principles deliver the goods either. It must be difficult on a person, especially a young girl, to become a public figure at an early age. Where do you go after that, given an absence of talent?

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.

My heavens, why such a low star score!! This was a very well done movie in all aspects of theater, given the storyline plot is one commonly hackneyed. This movie isn't in the Cat On A Hot Tin Roof notch, but it sure did play a close second in the intensity department! This wasn't of the style of Billy Bob Thornton in Chrystal or Redford in Gatsby, but you got the hillbilly gal semi-tushing her way into the wishful richer world and get out of her backwoods living. The direction, casting, styles and acting were all topnotch and keeps you anticipating more unto the very end. I do get weary of movies using cornfields as inexpensive scenes in these types (and others) of movies (and it was a little whacked to see a Kansas type cornfield not far from a swamp), but it fit well in this movie for the short use they made of it with Officer Avon and Flowers characters ... it was ideal for that particular important scene and it set a motif for next scenes very well. Photography was done very well with good angles, and for once! a decent background music score. I do get weary of dueling banjos even though I really like it, but it wouldn't be suitable to have an association of Deliverance here. It was just all very well put together and the movie just flows.Too many movies have come across with backwood hicks being stupid or racists and other such stereotyping. This movie put more meat into the character developments with serious and calculated depth. Even tho the Inez character obviously had a hard streak about her, her manipulations were upfront and honest, with rational reasoning to stomp her steps through the movie. You can't help but like, admire and pity her and yet be accompanied by dismay (and minor frustration, but not annoyingly so) of her intellectual limitations to step out of her bad situation with a better solution. However, that doesn't happen in life and this movie albeit intense, was a refreshing straying from stereotyping of a battered and abused woman. I liken this movie to the level of the movie Tim, with Mel Gibson, whereby the characters are portrayed with specific complex and simplistic limitations/boundaries giving the audience the decision of forming their own separate opinion(s) of each characterization instead of the director "telling" you this-or-that is what you should be thinking.Would I watch this movie again? I probably wouldn't rent it again, but would watch it again, but would need to be mentally geared for another viewing. This was a rather deep movie to take the first time around, and is probably why others gave it a lower score. I would recommend watching it, but would say if you're more into less mental type movies, this would not be your cup of tea.

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.