Claustrophobic “Buried” A Tour de Force
Meet Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), he is a US civilian contractor, driving trucks in Iraq for a living. Paul’s last memory was seeing his truck convoy being ambushed by possible Iraqi insurgents. He is now stuck inside a wooden coffin buried a few feet underground somewhere in Iraq. In his possession is a cell phone, a lighter and a few other objects intentionally left there for him by his kidnappers. As Paul struggles to get help from just about anyone, he soon learns that he must pay a $5 million ransom before 9PM to be let go.
Breaking many film-making conventions, Rodrigo Cortes’ high-concept thriller Buried is quite unique in that the entire film takes place entirely inside that large wooden coffin with only one single character on-screen throughout. That’s right, the entire movie takes place in a little box. While some viewers may be concerned that the movie will fail to sustain their attention for over 90 minutes, it manages to actually be quite riveting, tense and thrilling. By never leaving the coffin and unfolding nearly in real time, the viewer never knows more than Paul himself and we are left to wonder what we would do in the same situation. Despite the tight quarters, Cortes is able to think outside the box (pun intended!) when it comes to finding new way to shoot and light his star.
The underrated Ryan Reynolds is outstanding in a one-man show, thoroughly convincing as a man fighting for his life. He portrays the confusion, claustrophobic panic, despair, fear, frustration and glimmer of hope that his character undergoes without any artifice. It’s a physically and emotionally straining role, especially given the fact that Reynolds was also responsible for the set lighting and had to be constantly aware of how he held the cell phone or lighter. Yet, the wrong performance would have ruined the movie within the first 10 minutes. It’s always pleasing to see an actor rise to the occasion and people who are still associating Reynolds with his lighter comedic roles such as in Van Wilder will stop doing so once they see this movie.
The script by Chris Sparling is darkly funny at times and contains some interesting and timely allegories alluding to the US involvement in Iraq. More importantly, it guides the movie toward a memorable and breathtaking ending that will come completely unexpected to most mainstream viewers.
Claustrophobic and tense, Buried is a well-crafted thriller carried by a fantastic performance from Ryan Reynolds.
B
(7/10)
Notes: Rated R for language and some violent content, 95 minutes.
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13 Comments
I love this movie!! It really is depend on Reynold performance and fortunately he pulls it off.
The ending was the best. If it goes the other way around, I would end up feeling dissapointed.
Yes, loved the ending. More movies should end that way
Yeah, this was the last movie I watched in theaters before leaving for deployment. Not my best idea ever.
Still loved it, although there was a scene in there that felt very forced.
Don’t worry! If you live the same fate, you can use the phone post a comment here about your ordeal. Then, we will all think “what a joke-ster that Red!”
Perhaps not a great idea in your context, Red – but I regret not checking it out in the cinema. The better half is claustrophobic, so I have to watch this at home with the family. It’s the same deal with 127 Hours – she’s afraid of the removal of the arm, despite the fact that it’s an Oscar contender rather than a Saw sequel.
Ryan Reynolds is the real deal with this performance and proves he really can carry a film all on his own. Hope I can see more with him playing the dramatic man. Good Review!
Thanks Dan! It sure doesn’t get harder for an actor than being on every single frame of a movie for 95 minutes.
Reynolds is really coming into his own as an actor. At first I only thought of him as a comic actor as he’s always got a smirk on his face, but he’s proven to be quite versatile. I don’t know if I’ll see this one though as I can’t stand the claustrophobia factor.
It’s not overwhelmingly claustrophobic. It really is a small spurts when Reynolds is actually pretending to be panicking in that tiny space.
Reminds me of Tarantino’s CSI episode, which was great. It of course featured scenes in the outside world, but I imagine it might be the same sort of effect. They can’t release it on video here quickly enough…
I’m surprised Reynolds never got any mention at any point this awards season. He did just as much as Franco (except Franco had the convenience of not being confined the entire time).
Yea I agree but let’s face it, Reynolds is not going to get too much respect until he puts together a nice string of dramatic role. Even though he was outstanding in this movie, most people will still associate him with his lighter roles.
Good review, Castor. Just watched this one on DVD. The story is really gripping though the film was set in a very limited space.
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