Buried | Review
Who would have ever thought that a film that takes place entirely within a wooden coffin buried several feet underground would actually contain enough action, drama, suspense, and thrills to keep you entertained for a full 90-minutes? Director Rodrigo Cortes and screenwriter Chris Sparling sure did, and with the strong acting capabilities of Ryan Reynolds (‘The Proposal’ & ‘Green Lantern’) ‘Buried’ succeeds.
The film begins when United States trucker Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) wakes up and suddenly finds himself inside a coffin buried a few feet underground. The coffin only has about 90 minutes of oxygen left, and buried with Paul is a lighter, a flashlight, some glow sticks, a cellular phone, and some random belongings from his pocket. Having no idea how he got in the situation, Paul slowly begins to piece several clues together.
Paul Conroy was on a delivery trip in Iraq when his convoy was ambushed and attack by armed insurgents. All of his friends have been killed, and Paul had been buried in order to be used as ransom for millions of dollars for an unknown person. The kidnapper stays in contact with Paul through the cellular phone, which is quickly dying in battery life. Paul also uses the phone to call several other people, including his family, his employers, the FBI, and the State Department.
The struggle to find help ends luckily when Paul comes into contact (through the phone) with a man named Dan Brenner (Robert Paterson) who works for a part of the U.S. government that specializes in finding kidnapped individuals. Every time Brenner’s British voice is heard over the phone, it gives you a sigh of relief, for he’s the only person in the film that can potentially save Paul. The voice, in particular, is important because you never see Brenner’s face, nor any other person’s face in the film, other than Paul Conroy’s.
‘Buried’ is unique because the film is always showing the coffin and Paul Conroy – never of the people or actions on the other end of the line. Sometimes the screen will black out if Paul turns off his light source. Sometimes the shot will be of the entire side of the coffin, with blackness around all four sides of it. The use of many different angles within, as well as around, the coffin helps entertain and keeps the film interesting, while emphasizing the film’s claustrophobic atmosphere. When you watch Paul struggle to breath and move within the coffin, you may feel uneasy. The film is effective in portraying the feeling of an enclosed space.
Quite a few things happens within the coffin to keep the feel entertaining, though I won’t mention anything because it’ll ruin the film’s effect. Everything that happens within the film is plausible, which is pretty frightening to think about if you imagine yourself in Paul’s position. The risk of death at any moment due to no oxygen, or the various other things that happen within the coffin throughout the film, is a scary thought.
The one issue within the film is the fact that for much of the first half of the film, Paul literally kills off a lot of his oxygen when he frequently uses his lighter. Fire consumes oxygen, and Paul doesn’t have much to spare considering the size of the coffin. Sure, Paul uses the lighter to see and look for things, as well as write down numbers and names, but the problem is when he uses the lighter to just lay quietly in the coffin to stare and think; he could have stared and think to himself in the darkness without wasting his oxygen with the lighter. And ironically there’s a part within the film where Paul is talking with someone over the phone, and he says he doesn’t want to use his lighter that much in order to conserve oxygen. Thankfully he finds a flashlight and big glow sticks later on in the film.
Aside from this small problem, the film is great. It works in enough suspense, drama, and action to maintain its nerve-wracking and nail-biting premise. Ryan Reynolds does a wonderful job practically starring in a one-man show, effectively portraying fear, anxiety, impatience, and emotion in general. Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes directed this experimental film brilliantly.
Man, the ending of the film is… man. It was an emotional high-point of the film. Truly amazing.
