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Buried
| Released |
29 September 2010 |
| Director |
Rodrigo Cortes |
| Starring |
Ryan Reynolds |
| Writer(s) |
Rodrigo Cortes |
| Producer(s) |
Adrian Guerra, Peter Safran |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
95 minutes |
| Genre |
Thriller |
| Rating |
15A |
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Nothing to see here.
For most of its life, the cinema has sought to dazzle its audience with new worlds and stunning Cinemascope vistas. In 2010, this tendency to the spectacular has found its nadir in Rodrigo Cortes’ Buried in which we spend an hour and a half in a wooden coffin under Iraqi sands with the unfortunate protagonist, American truck driver Paul Conroy. Now you may think as I did, that this is an interesting idea but one that is, by its very nature, deeply uncinematic and a challenge for any director to pull off. How does one translate the terror of being buried alive to an audience while also keeping the screen interesting for the eye over the course of ninety minutes?
I certainly don’t have the answer and unfortunately, neither does Rodrigo Cortes. Buried never manages to reconcile its subject matter to the cinematic form. In an attempt to inject some dynamism and visual interest into this most restrictive of mise en scenes, Cortes opts for an active camera that swoops around Reynolds’ body, examining the cramped surroundings and in one memorable move, pulling out to reveal the coffin walls climbing endlessly into nothing. There is a great deal of imagination on display here to be sure but it also has the effect of killing the tension and claustrophobia of the situation.
Despite this admittedly major problem, Ryan Reynolds acquits himself admirably. As both the audience and the protagonist are trapped within the coffin (with no cutaways or establishing shots) Buried is effectively a one man show and Reynolds certainly throws himself into it. Despite the close confines and relative lack of interaction with the outside world (in the form of a handy mobile phone), Reynolds gives a remarkably physical and committed performance. He even manages to draw moments of black humour from the situation as he encounters the ludicrous red tape of the American government.
So, there are elements to be admired here but I never escaped the thought that this was a script that would have made an excellent radio play rather than a so-so feature film.
- Linda O’Brien |
