Buried

If I were trying to find an actor to star in a 94-minute movie that takes place in real-time, in a coffin, there would be literally dozens of actors I would have chosen before Ryan Reynolds. Rodrigo Cortés however has done exactly that to create 'Buried'.

Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working in Iraq in 2006. He has woken up in a coffin with only a semi-charged mobile phone and a zippo lighter, the last thing he remembers is the convoy he was a part of being ambushed.

The film follows the next 90 minutes of his life as he scrambles to find out where he is, why he's been put there and ultimately what the people he calls can do to help him.

The movie never cuts away from the coffin; there are no flashbacks or glimpses of the people he is talking to. The movie has numerous voice actors but visually the only actor is Reynolds. The coffin is around 8 ft by 3ft by 1ft which makes the entire movie feel claustrophobic.

The movie has a few point where almost nothing is happening as he is waiting for a phonecall, in these moments the director has chosen to create fake tension in activities such as Reynolds turning himself around to reach an object at the far side of the coffin, the decision to do this seems odd as the director begins the movie with no visuals and near silence for around a minute. This is however a minute issue which would likely go unnoticed by most.

If, like me, you see Ryan Reynolds as a comic actor (I first seen him in 2 Guys and Girl and a pizza place) your opinion of him will change as a result of this movie. At a few points I actually felt myself choking up. He plays the part well and could do little more to show that he can, when needed, be a serious actor.

This film would have been great if the subject matter (Civilian contractors being taken hostage) was pure fiction however the events of the movie are so plausible that it renders the movie amazing.

Rating 4 out of 5

See it if you liked:
1408
The Kingdom
Phone Booth

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Review by kevin Brown