“Buried” is one of the riskiest outings chanced on film in a long while. The premise is that a man is trapped in a box that is…well…buried, but the interesting part is that for the duration of the film, Rodrigo Cortés shoots from inside the box. It is definitely a premise that could very easily lose its appeal, but manages to keep viewers engaged throughout, a very similar situation to the television show “Seinfeld” when Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld fought to have “The Chinese Restaurant” shot with one set back in 1991; it was something the producers thought would not work, but it turned into one of the most memorable episodes in the series; the impact is not so much the case here, but it does payoff. While some of the film can get a little tedious, you cannot help but feel a sense of urgency in this man’s unfortunate situation.
With only his clothes, a lighter, glow stick, and a foreign cell phone, Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), a U.S. military trucker in Iraq awakens to find himself trapped in a box after a terrorist ambush. After the initial shock, he begins to make phone calls to numerous people. This is perhaps one of the most frustrating films because you genuinely feel for Conroy as he attempts to contact the outside world without any luck for so long. Capturing the essence of American phone service (or lack thereof), Conroy is met with unhelpful people not just from his employer, but literally everyone he speaks to. No one has answers and no one seems to know what they are doing themselves.
Final Opinion
“Buried” flies by pretty quick for a film that only has one “set.” It is desperate, thrilling and leaves your heart in your throat imagining yourself in that particular situation. The only negatives are that the terrorist does not add anything and the film would have proceeded just fine even without his role, and the other people on the phone (as stated earlier) are a little too suspicious of Conroy and unbelievably inept. It breaks no boundaries, has a couple flaws, but is still enjoyable. All that aside, I recommend the film simply because of the film style and acting. Ryan Reynolds is believable and to see him do a role like this is refreshing.
7/10
