Buried (2010)

Like many others out there, I'm claustrophobic. It's not an extreme case or anything, but tight spaces are something that I'd like to avoid. And as a claustrophobic person, one of the worst things I could imagine would be to find myself buried alive. Just thinking about it makes me want to have a panic attack.

It was this fear that drew me to the movie Buried. Its whole concept captured my attention, but since it didn't play anywhere near me during its theatrical run last fall, I unfortunately missed out. But thanks to the wonders of DVD and Netflix, I can tell you that Buried is one heck of a movie.

As the movie begins, Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), a civilian contractor working with the American military in the Middle East, awakens to find himself in a rather dangerous predicament. Paul's convoy was attacked by Iraqi insurgents, and he was taken hostage. These insurgents have buried Paul in a pine box somewhere in the desert, holding him for a million-dollar ransom. With him in the casket is a working cell phone, with which he frantically tries contacting someone who can help him before what little oxygen he has runs out.

A lot of movies, both in the thriller and horror genres, have tried using claustrophobia to enhance their atmosphere. Some are successful, some are not. But Buried is one of those movies that takes claustrophobia to such an unconscionable degree that it's almost unbearable. I practically had a panic attack within the first ten minutes of the movie, no joke. The way the movie accomplishes this is pretty brave, which I'll get into later. But I'll say this much now: Buried is fantastic.

The movie was directed by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés, who took the very bold step of never leaving the coffin. Not a single second of Buried takes place outside of the box our protagonist is trapped inside. Most directors probably would have used flashbacks, or taken us above ground to show us whom Paul is talking to on his cell phone. But Cortés doesn't. He keeps the movie inside the coffin, lighting it with a lighter, a flashlight, glowsticks, and a cell phone screen. He honestly could have made Buried with a camcorder on a budget of 500 bucks, for all we see during the movie. This minimalist approach actually makes the movie move unnerving, since it gives us so little room to breathe. I'm sure that's what Cortés was aiming for, and if it was, he aced it.

I also thought that the script, penned by Chris Sparling, worked well too. Sparling essentially wrote a one-man show, since Ryan Reynolds is the only actor to physically appear on-screen during the movie. But he pulls it off without a hitch. It must have been tempting to write scenes set above ground, but the fact that there are no scenes like that at all is really cool. The only thing that bugged me about it is this: Why couldn't anyone try tracking the GPS locator in Paul's phone? If the kidnapper had left him with one of those first-generation cell phones that were the size of a brick, then I'd understand. But he was stuck in there with a BlackBerry. Unless the kidnappers disabled the GPS locator, he could have been found in no time.

And as the only actor in the movie (outside of the voices heard over the phone), Ryan Reynolds has to carry the whole thing by himself. And he's good, really good. I'm still not used to seeing him in non-comedic roles, even after seeing this and The Amityville Horror, but if he can pull it off, I'm not arguing with him playing roles like this. Reynolds is believable here, in that I'd probably act the same way if I were stuck in the same situation. That is, once I stopped crying and peeing myself in fear. The movie would have been ruined had Reynolds's performance been anything other than great, but luckily, he is great.

Though they aren't produced that often, there does exist a tiny sub-genre of movies where people find themselves trapped alone in unenviable situations. There have been people stuck on a ski lift, in the middle of the ocean, in a phone booth at the end of a sniper's gun barrel, and between a literal rock and a hard place. Buried is not only a fantastic addition to that sub-genre, but an awesome film in general. It's incredibly effective, well-made, and definitely worth watching. I'm actually sad it didn't get a wider theatrical release, because it's totally deserving of a wider audience. But that's the glory of a DVD release, right? So yeah, go rent Buried right the heck now, because on the usual scale, I'm giving it four stars and a solid recommendation. It's definitely worth the watch.

Final Rating: ****