'Buried' Review

A claustrophobic thriller staring Ryan Reynolds, 'Buried' takes an extreme approach in depicting a contemporary story. Its innovativeness leaves us as an audience with the entire film taking place in a coffin, with the camera only leaving Ryan Reynolds face for seconds at a time. 

Here's to looking at you, Ryan

Paul Conroy (Reynolds) wakes up in a coffin underground with no memory of how exactly he came to be there. After assessing the situation and calming down he locates a cell phone, a lighter, and a pencil- not exactly part of Bear Grylls survival guide, but beggars can't be choosers. He calls everyone he can think of to help him out but no one answers leading him into deeper despair. Eventually he gets a call from an Iraqi insurgent who wants money in exchange for his safety, 5 million dollars- a sum he does not possess nor have the capability to obtain. He is able to contact the State Department and media outlets and his presence is known throughout many government circles, exposure that will hopefully lead to his freedom. 
But as his air starts to run out he becomes more desperate, putting his trust in the hands of some questionable people. Paul's conflict is resolved at the end, but as we see what happens to him the film cuts to black and the film ends. 


I don't know why, predisposition maybe, but I have always been claustrophobic. Putting myself in Conroy's shoes here was a horrifying proposition for me but after a while I assured myself that it was just a movie and I was okay.

This movie should not have worked, how could an audience with the attention span of a goldfish be expected to watch 90 minutes of Ryan Reynolds? How could a movie set inside a box be exciting and have me on the edge of my seat? Well, it has to do with the direction of Rodrigo Cortes. He creates an atmosphere that mixes suspense with anticipation that results in a Grade A thriller and one hell of a nightmare. Cortes is a relative newcomer to the profession but has earned wide acclaim for his previous work and is definitely a director worth watching in the years to come.

From what I know of Ryan Reynolds, 'Waiting,' 'Van Wilder' I can't stand him. His disposition just annoys me and I just consider him such a goofy, unserious person unfit for roles such as this. He was tolerable in this film, certainly showing me an acting prowess that I didn't see in him before. Were there other actors I would have liked to see in this role other than Reynolds? Yes, absolutely. Preferably someone with a temper, like Mel Gibson in his prime, not a bona fide comedian known for being a slacker like Reynolds. I think about how much better this movie could have been with a humorless actor who I could take seriously. 

His milkshake brings all the boys to the yard...

A thriller comparable to the films of yesteryear, 'Buried' succeeds where most films fail. It is exciting and enthralling but it just isn't as believable as I would have liked. 'Buried' is an above-average flick that loses much of its air as it moves along due to an over indulgence in Ryan Reynolds. It's clearly not a studio movie, but it does the best it can with B movie budget and B movie acting.


Grade: B