Buried

Buried is a film that keeps things deadly simple, one character, one location and a one line but horribly inspired plot, those looking for flashy visuals or big action should turn far, far away from this one. It's worth noting though that the film is well directed and photographed, director Rodrigo Cortes has a nimble eye for visuals and angles to keep things visually interesting, while cinematographer Eduard Grau gets the best out of the mere two light sources to make the experience a frighteningly vivid one. The plot sees Ryan Reynolds waking up in a coffin, with nothing more than a cell-phone and his lighter to help him out, things develop through his series of fraught, occasionally bleakly amusing and increasingly desperate communications with the outside world. Its rather interesting to see a film so based around interactions on a mobile phone, devices so often objects of fear, suspicion, or in the case of some horror films and of course the cinematic experience for the viewer, irritations. Here every ring is crucial, the battery bar is nail-biting, even the light of the screen is important. For me, just as interesting was the choice of lead. I've never had time for Ryan Reynolds, a face from some of the worst in lowbrow comedy and someone I never expected to appreciate breaking through into not just serious film but something as bold in its structure as this. A lot of people are likely to dislike the film on a fundamental level, but Reynolds gives the performance of his life here, running through a rainbow of emotions, angry, sarcastic and terrified are but a few. Compelling and sympathetic, likely physically arduous too (though I'd don't know how the film was made it must have been tough, barring serious trickery) he holds the film wonderfully. The script is of course of utmost importance too, and writer Chris Sparling does mostly terrific work. An ordinary man reacting as best he can to a nightmare, drawing on the sort of resourcefulness he probably hoped he'd never need, occasionally breaking down but keeping ploughing on, shades of dark humour in the protagonist's travails on the phone, its endlessly interesting and as time goes on, nail-bitingly suspenseful. I had minor issues with realism in the film, and there was at least one interesting little aside that could have been developed a bit more, but overall this is a great achievement. It surely won't appeal to everyone and my rating might seem generous, but for doing this well on such a risky concept, and putting together a suspenser that remains thought provoking after, a 9/10 from me.

Here is the proof that an intelligent movie can also be done with a low budget. The Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes mixed every element with a good balance into an interesting, never boring tense thriller. The end was very surprising and unexpected. I don't want to give more details here. Just watch it. I bought the DVD very cheap. Ryan Reynolds delivered a very respectable performance. The running time with 91 minutes was perfect. Buried is not based on true events but it is not far away from the reality.

My expectations have been met. Even my wife had her doubts before but then she looked it with high attention.

At the end we gave both a solid rating of 7/10.

Buried is easily one of the interesting movie experiments I have seen in recent times. Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes takes minimalist cinema-making to new heights by telling a story with just only one character trapped in one location in what is almost dogma 95esque settings, and far more importantly he manages to do so by keeping it interesting throughout the 90 minutes.

Buried opens with a man trapped in what appears to be a wooden box buried underground. As the movie progresses we find out he is Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) an American truck driver employed by an American firm - Creston Roland and Thomas (CRT) in Iraq. His last memory is that of his convoy being ambushed by people (as Conroy puts it- terrorists, insurgents who the f**k cares?). As he tries to piece it all together he finds out that he has lost his special contact number ( that apparently every American in Iraq has been given in case of an emergency) but discovers a mobile phone ( in Arabic settings) and a Zippo lighter alongside a pencil, a pocket knife, and supply of anti-anxiety pills ( we later learn that Conroy suffers from anxiety)

The rest of the movie is about his frenetic attempts to establish contact with outside world - his family, friends, employers, the state department to seek assistance to 'get him out'. But things start to get complicated when he is contacted on the phone by his abductor who requests him to arrange ransom from the American Embassy. Running out of both phone battery and air to breathe, Conroy soon finds out that the threats are not hollow; he is forced to make a video of himself which finds its way to the you tube. As things deliberate, Conroy starts to realise he is just a small, helpless insect caught in a web spun by devious and meaner players…

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I missed Cortes' interview on BBC Radio 4 yesterday so I'm not really sure the actual intention behind the movie but there are enough, unmissable, Geo-political subtexts in the script - "I never thought I will find myself here". "I don't think any of us thought we would find ourselves here". I read the movie as Conroy being symbolic of America trapped in a situation which he couldn't get out of despite all the technology and the capitalism abound - multinationals ( admit it, doesn't Creston Roland and Thomas sound impressive? especially, if you say it where the outside temperature is 50 degree centigrade?), answering machines ( that great trickster of a machine that promises to callback but doesn't), robot call operators ( Sir, I can connect you to the FBI field office in Boston, New York, Chicago…), the protocols (Crisis Steering Committee, Hostage Negotiation Team ) etc, all of which somewhat seem hopelessly trivial in the face of more existential needs.

Buried is a intelligent 21st century cinematic marriage of Kafka and Beckett. Philosophically, it is a wonderful screen portrayal of a nervous breakdown in the wake of continuing threat. I found how Cortes had guided Conroy's character through a sequence of emotions - anger, pain, fear, disdain, dread, calm and finally acceptance very beautiful, though in a sense beautiful is not the correct word here. The camera work, especially the use of different angles to emphasise different emotions within the limited setting of the movie is commendable. Last but not the least, I always remembered Ryan Reynolds as that lanky guy wearing a maroon sweatshirt in Two guys , a girl and a pizza place. It is fair to say not anymore. To be frank, he is a bit of surprise here; he lives up to the demands of the role - a lesser effort would have easily made the Buried a 90 minute closeup photo-shoot in dark light settings. Ryan should be proud of his efforts in the Buried.

In light of how the idea of cinema is recast lately, movies such as Buried ought to be encouraged, because, amongst million other reasons it defines what cinema is more than how a 3D movie would. I would prefer watching Buried again than writing a review of James Cameron's next big computer generated manipulation that is assured to collectively sweep the humanity into his bank account.

Paul Conroy (played by Ryan Reynolds) awakes to find himself in a wooden box, buried underground. He is a civilian contractor and truck-driver in Iraq. His convoy was ambushed and he was taken captive and buried alive. He has a limited amount of air, giving him a limited time to find a way out. All he has to aid him in this task is his cigarette lighter, a torch, a mobile phone and his will to live.

Minimalist yet highly original, intriguing and tension-filled.

Probably the most minimalist movie ever made. The entire movie is filmed inside a wooden box, a wooden box with one occupant (well, one human occupant...). One actor - Ryan Reynolds - has 100% of the screen time, though there are voices of other actors involved.

Incredibly engrossing and tension-filled. Until the very last moment you don't know how things are going to work out. Director Rodrigo Cortes and writer Chris Sparling keep you on tenterhooks throughout, teasing you with thoughts of one survival option being more likely than the other.

Shows you don't need a big budget to make a great movie.

Buried (2010)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Effective thriller has Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) waking up in pure darkness and soon realizing that his convoy in Iraq was attacked by insurgents and now he is stuck inside a coffin without much time to live. He has a cell phone and a few other odds and ends and this here is really as much as you need to know in terms of story. BURIED is certainly unlike any other film that I can think of. Sure, there have been countless movies about being buried alive as the horror genre is full of such films but none of them actually put you in the coffin for 94-minutes and made you squirm like this thing does. It's interesting that the director and screenwriter decided to have every single second inside the coffin and I think this was a very wise choice. I think an uncomfortable filmmaker would have chickened out and not kept everything inside the coffin. There are several people that Paul calls throughout the movie trying to get help and I think a lot of people would have shown these other people but thankfully that doesn't happen here. I think the film works because as more and more time passes you begin to feel like Paul, as if you're trapped and by keeping you inside the coffin you never really get a chance to catch your breath. Every time Paul goes into shock so do you. Every time another issue comes up you can't help but feel his pain. Every single thing Paul feels in the movie is something the viewer is also feeling so it was very wise to keep everything in this small box. The amazing thing is that you'd think there wasn't too much you could do in such a small space but the screenplay offers up quite a few things that I won't ruin. I don't think anything came across as being faked or forced. The one problem I had with the film is that since we do spend the entire time in the box, it takes a few minutes to really warm up to Paul. Yes, we feel the dangers as soon as the film starts since it begins with him in danger but the suspense really starts after we become to know the guy, have feelings for him and wanting to see him get out of this situation. Reynolds is certainly one of the best actors working in movies today and it's a real shame that so many of his great performances aren't being seen by the masses. His performance here is another winner as he carries the entire film. Being trapped in a tight box without much room to move allows him to use facial gestures as well as other body movements. There's also a lot of work he has to do with his voice. The most impressive thing for me was just watching his eyes as we can see his fear, heartache and pain without him having to say a single word. The 2.35:1 framing allows some terrific shots but it also adds to the claustrophobic nature of the film. As more and more time passes you can't help but feel squeezed in just like the character and I must admit that there were a few times where I was holding my breath for so long that I ended up gasping for air. I won't ruin the final ten-minutes but they're certainly not for the weak hearted.