Claustaphobic? Ever wonder what a feature length film about a guy trapped in a box would be like? No? Well too bad, they made it anyway. Buried was a very well made and excellently shot film but the story and concept were not strong enough to support a feature length film. It’s 95 minutes which could have been fit into about 20. Ryan Reynolds was amazing literally being a one man show. He is in the box by himself. Really, that is the movie.
The movie begins with Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) tied up in a wooden coffin. He doesn’t know how he got there, what he’s doing there or how to get out. The movie is dark lit the whole time so the sound is really important. Make sure you see this at an adequate theater if you do see it. Sometimes the lights go completely out and you’re left with just the sound.
Near the beginning of the film, Paul finds a cell phone buried with him which contributes to many of the following scenes and tension. He starts calling everybody he can think of to help him out except the people who can actually help! To me, this was as frustrating as yelling to a character on the screen in a horror film. As the film goes on, the plot thickens and you learn what happened to him and wonder how he’ll survive. But to me, the movie was too predictable.
Ryan Reynolds with Director Rodrigo Cortés
He’s left with a zippo lighter, flask of liquor, dysfunctional flashlight, and some other items to help him through. It’s interesting how he uses some of the items but he’s definitely no MacGyver. The movie moved pretty slow for me so I can’t recommend it to just anyone. It’s great if you’re a film buff and want to see something different. But other than that, it’s an attempt at something special that didn’t quite follow through. I think it would’ve made an amazing short but being too long hurt it.
Tags: Buried, Rodrigo Cortés, Ryan Reynolds
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
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