1. Buried Film Review

Film Review: Buried

Target Publication: Empire Magazine

• Production year: 2010
• Cert (UK): 15
• Runtime: 95 mins
• Directors: Rodrigo Cortes
• Cast: Jose Luis Garcia Perez, Robert Paterson, Ryan Reynolds
• Plot: A man (Reynolds) wakes up to find himself trapped in a coffin underground. With his air supply running out and only a few power bars on his cell phone, he has 90 minutes to escape his underground nightmare.

From the toe-curling Paranormal Activity 2 to the now standardised gore-fest of Saw 3D, we have been spoilt for choice when it comes to traumatising cinematic experiences in the last few months. One film, however, has tipped the scale for pure, unadulterated suspense, and that film is Buried; a merciless exercise in tension almost certain to give everyone permanent claustrophobia.

The premise of Buried is very simple. After his convoy is ambushed in Iraq, American truck driver Paul Conroy (Reynolds) wakes up in a coffin. He quickly discovers he has only a few items at his disposal: a Zippo lighter, a Blackberry phone (with a rapidly diminishing battery) and a small flask of whisky.

As we never leave the coffin and our attention remains firmly rooted on Paul and his dilemma, all the drama arises from the telephone exchanges he makes once he composes himself. With every outgoing call comes more frustration; we find bureaucrats unresponsive, corporate bosses unfeeling, his wife unavailable and even his mother lost in a fog of dementia.

During these calls he is contacted by his kidnappers, who believe he is a soldier and demand he arrange a payment of $5 million for his freedom.

Paul knows the payment will never happen, but he clings to hope that someone will rescue him from this underground nightmare. Although distressed and suffering from painful anxiety, he is unflinching in his resolve to survive.

Ryan Reynolds performance in Buried is nothing short of outstanding. From an actor seemingly more suited to the stream of rom-coms and action flicks he is famous for, such an emotional, complex and intense performance demands admiration.

Director Rodrigo Cortes commented on the efforts Reynolds made during the filming process, and how taxing such an emotionally charged performance was.

"For [Ryan] it was very difficult, in physical terms, because he had to lay back with his back bleeding, his fingers literally fried from the heat of the lighter, his skin totally destroyed. But also in emotional terms, because he was a catalogue of extreme emotions, from primal fear, to panic, to hope, anger, surrender, acceptance, you name it!" In typical comic fashion, Reynolds regarded the filming process as "not unlike most dental surgeries - if the dentist used only hammers!"

The results of this hard physical and emotional work speak for themselves. With the camera never leaving the confined, chest-crushing space of the coffin, we are forced to share every moment of raw human emotion - a product of how masterfully Reynolds gives life to his character.

On the technical side, cinematographer Eduard Grau kept a Hitchcock edge to the production process. Instead of relying on a steam of flashbacks and clips of the outside to add dimension to the film, he kept close, and focused the filming efforts on creating a world within the coffin itself. This required a host of technical devices, from nerve-shredding sound effects, independent light sources (the only lighting was from the phone and flickering lighter) to the use of props (seven coffins were used in the shoot, one of which allowed the camera to spin 360 degrees). This gives the audience a constant reminder of the severity of Conroy's situation. Throughout his distressing ordeal, we feel just as trapped and uncomfortable as he does.

The affects of this claustrophobic production is the film's genius and its flaw. While brilliant in its cinematography and acting integrity, it is nonetheless a film you'll never want to see again.

Verdict: A fresh use of cinematography - hard-hitting and emotionally charged. But about as comfortable as a wooden car seat.

***