Buried

Buried (15)

Starring Ryan Reynolds.

Directed by Rodrigo Cortés.

I went to see Buried this week, and it’s a one man show. Before donning the Green Lantern costume for next year’s big comic book movie, Ryan (I’m a serious actor) Reynolds is Paul Conroy, a driver in Baghdad, who ends up six feet under after being abducted by insurgents. His only resources are a torch and a mobile phone, which is his contact to the outside world. His kidnappers want two million dollars, but being trapped inside a coffin, Paul discovers that time is running out.

The first few calls Conroy makes end up being rerouted or put on hold, that’s something we can all sympathise with. The calls that he makes reveal details about himself, to make matters worse his employers give him the heave ho, a hostage negotiator does very little to help and he gets an unwelcome visit from a snake as well as frequent calls from his abductor who tells him to “make video now!” It’s best to describe this film as a three act play.

Act one Frustrated.

Act two Desperate.

Act three Loss of hope.

This is one of those films where the protagonist is trapped in some situation and by the end he/she usually finds a way to get out of their predicament. In this case, there’s a foregone conclusion regarding the fate of Conroy. One of the critics shouted loudly, “Is it going to be like this for the whole film?”

Alright, there’s a few jump in the seat moments but it’s a really depressing film. As for the main lead, Reynolds make’s lemons into lemonade. His performance keeps the whole thing going, he’s the main selling point of the film along with the current situation in Iraq. If you want to see a dark and edgy film sans happy ending then I guess this is right up your alley. On the other hand, it’s really convinced me to get a Blackberry.

DW Rating 3 and a half.

Posted: 22/9/2010
Categories: Reviews / Movies

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