One-Man Agony Opus Part 2

It seems fitting that I happened to watch this film the night after watching 127 Hours. Buried shows a very different approach at a movie about one guy, in once place for the whole movie. This movie is more literally just that. All that I saw of this film prior to watching it was a teaser that just showed Ryan Reynolds in a box, lit only by the light of lighter. It was only a few seconds long and didn't say anything except the movie's title. That intrigued me.

Rodrigo Cortes' high concept thriller starring Ryan Reynolds is all about playing with space and tension, very much in the style of Hitchcock. It's even being advertised using old Hitchcock movie poster art styles, like this one to the left. Very reminiscent of the posters for Vertigo and Frenzy.

Ryan Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working in Iraq who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wakes up in your worst nightmare: buried in a box, with no recollection of how he got there. All that he has with him is a lighter, a flask, some medication for his anxiety, a couple of glow sticks and a cell phone with dwindling battery life.

He gets a call from his captor, informing him that he has 90 minutes to secure a ransom to save his own life. After a lot of frantic screaming and freaking out, he starts dialing numbers. He tries everything from 411, to his company's personnel department, to his wife multiple times, and to a woman that he clearly has some animosity towards, struggling to get anyone to help him. His frustrating conversations with people that are asking too many stupid questions and are generally unable or willing to help him, add to the tensity of the film. That felt really realistic to me because how many times have you tried dealing with people on the phone and just ended up getting nowhere? That, paired with the terrifying realization that his oxygen is running out, sand leaking in through the cracks of the box, and the increasingly angry and demanding phone calls from his captor, make his situation all the more unbearable.


What was most effective about this film was the simplicity of the way it was shot. It's literally just Paul in the box, the only light coming from either his lighter, his cell phone, or one of the glow sticks that he found in there with him. There are no flahsbacks or shots of anyone outside of the box which really keeps you in there with him. That was what disappointed me about 127 Hours, and seeing how this film was done right afterwards proved how much more effective it can be. Sure, it's nice to show what beautiful shots you can do but if you really want to make your audience feel the tension and feel for what it's like to be trapped with your main character, this is the way to do it. I think it proves how effective a film can be by being small. With just a couple of boxes, with interchanging panels that can be taken out, depending on the camera angle, you get your whole set. Pair that with some colour filters and some plays on perspective and you have some really effective, and still beautiful shots. I remember reading somewhere that Ryan Reynolds had a day where he finally broke down after filming for so long in such enclosed spaces, and who could blame him. That must have really helped to get the role down for him though and his panic, frustrations and desperaty were convincing.

It's not an easy feat to make a 90 minute film like this that will keep your attention and though I may have gotten a little bit distracted in the beginning, there is a good amount of suspense and intensity more towards the end. I do think that the ending of this film was very fitting and really the only one that would make sense. It's a rare case to find a film with a good story and a good ending to match. Plus, it brought an even more physical horror to being buried alive. Oh yeah, and this film does have it's own moment of self-mutilation, though nowhere nearly as gruelling or horrible as cutting part of an arm off, it was still alright. Though I don't think it was a particularly outstanding performance in a particularly outstanding film, I think that it was good for what it was and quite effective. It offers a commentary on America's role in Iraq without jamming it down our throats which I appreciated. It's a very dirty, vulnerable and real feeling movie that anyone who enjoys a good suspense film should give a watch. Plus it was good to see Ryan Reynolds in such an up close and personal, serious role.