Relationships require rudimentary rules like rigorous romance, regular repairs, and variety for the revitalization of trust to reconstruct ramifications before current affairs of rapacious hearts spark rivalries more ferocious than fire scorches.

Written, directed, and starring Patrick Lazzara, Burn opens with someone finding the corpse of a blonde woman on a bed. It cuts to a man named Max (Lazzara) finding out his younger brother Vince (Eric Stayberg) has been marked for death by a mob boss because he’s responsible. He’s told this by his friend Seth (John Fava), the assassin hired for the hit. He gives him two days to get him out of town before he acts on the contract.

Max goes to visit Vince to find out how this all happened from him directly. He recounts his tale through flashbacks as they weigh the options for their next move. They swap stories about the women in their lives, cracking jokes. Vince goes on to describe how he’s been having an affair with the mob boss’ wife Laurel (Dawn Barber) for two months before she tried ending things that lead up to her eventual murder.

Max slowly remembers his own interactions with Laurel like how she invited him to her house for a drink the first time after he was hired to drive her home. Each conversation details the lifestyle she lived and their connections to the mafia. Things get complicated when Max leaves out his relatively similar relationship with her during their talk. It also shows how they haven’t always seen eye to eye through flashbacks and they haven’t had each other’s backs in the past either.

The brothers make their strained relationship believable because both actors give solid performances. Their chemistry and tension are both vividly depicted. Dawn Barber isn’t the best actress in my opinion. She has no energy, personality, or charisma as Laurel. Her dull performance doesn’t ruin Burn but it takes me out of the experience. I questioned why all the men are clamouring for her. She’s not convincing as the lusty trophy wife. I feel she’s miscast here. Jon Fava as Seth gives an outstanding performance as the wild card. Some of the best scenes involved characters questioning were allegiances lie and who’s lying about their allegiances.

Overall, the writer/director aptly tells a contorted tale of mystery. It’s written so the multiple plot threads weave a tangled web of deceit. I like how he directed the conversations, keeping the camera close up to make me feel engaged in what is said and how people say it. The theme of trust is explored from multiple perspectives so I noticed nuances about the dialogue spoken and reactions to what was said. He subverts expectations on multiple occasions because each story starts one way but ends on satisfyingly different pathways than what the stage was set for.

When the truth comes out, it cleverly gives the film’s title multiple meanings, making me rethink everything I just watched. I highly recommend Burn for crime drama fans however it’s lacking in the horror elements so genre enthusiasts might be disappointed. And remember, there are varying degrees of relationships and more than one way to get burned by them all.

9 out of 10