DVD Reviews

Buried

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• Details: Spain/95mins 15A

Have you ever left the cinema positively glowing with admiration for what you've just seen but never wanted to sit through it again? Buried evokes that kind of emotion. Firstly, it doesn't cheat; every single frame of this film is set in a coffin, so know that going in. Secondly, Ryan Reynolds does not flex his bulky torso in any form, or make his now customary sardonic quips. What he does do is give a brave, unflinching and downright stunning performance.
Reynolds is Paul Conroy, a truck driver who we learn has been working in Iraq for nine months, when he is abducted and buried in a coffin underground deep in the desert. With only a mobile phone, lighter and torch for company, he soon realises he's being held for ransom. With no way of knowing where he is, Paul desperately attempts to get in contact with the right people to get him out of his living nightmare.
Director Cortes obviously wants the audience to feel as nauseatingly uncomfortable as possible. To call the staging claustrophobic would be an understatement akin to pointing out that Oprah sometimes likes to talk about feelings. The camera is perpetually placed right in Reynold's mush, capturing every single piece anguish from every angle possible. Sometimes it will cut to an overhead view, like we're watching from a few feet above, but it always feels like you're underground with Paul.
The script, whilst realistic and offering character depth in obvious, difficult to convey circumstances, would be nothing without its leading (only) man. It's hard to imagine anyone else pulling of this type of performance, in this kind of manner. Brave is a word thrown around a lot for actors in Hollywood, but Reynolds really goes through the mill here, and more often than not you get the impression the pain on his face is all too real. If this gig doesn't result in an Oscar nomination then something is seriously wrong within The Academy. Not only is it his most impressive work to date, it proves, well beyond reasonable doubt, that he is an actor with undeniable range.
Horrible and innately difficult to watch, this is an excellent, high concept film, executed with minimum fuss and featuring an astonishing Ryan Reynolds. I never want to see it again.

Review by Mike Sheridan