It doesn't really sound like a movie to watch: a man lies in a box for 90 minutes, fighting for survival. But what Rodrigo Cortés has managed to do with his minimal thriller "Buried - Buried Alive" is nothing short of magnificent: an intense one-man show from Ryan Reynolds that is one of the most intense cinematic experiences of the year.
The story, as far as it may be given away, is quickly told: Paul Conroy (Reynolds), an American truck driver, has been kidnapped while on assignment in Iraq and buried in a wooden box. Equipped only with a lighter and a cell phone, Paul tries to figure out who he has to thank for this nightmare and if there is a way to get out of it in one piece. But with each passing minute, Paul's hopes dwindle as oxygen becomes more and more scarce and the cell phone's battery is also nearly dead...
To reveal more about "Buried - Buried Alive" wouldn't necessarily do much damage to the intensity of the viewing experience. But it does make the film a lot more exciting if you, the viewer, are as ignorant as Paul Conroy himself. Only this much can be said: Rodrigo Cortés and his team made a very big movie in only 17 days of shooting time as a thriller in a very small space. It's precisely because the production doesn't allow the viewer to take a breather by shifting the focus to the investigation above the surface of the earth that the story, and also Ryan Reynolds' performance, can only develop their full power. Reynolds, who first became known for light and not always level comedy fare and only in recent years has made a name for himself as an action and character actor, has delivered a performance under the most extreme circumstances that is more than Oscar worthy. You can feel Paul's desperation, panic, anger and will to survive in every second, which can be quite literally breathtaking.
Because especially when the screen remains oppressively black for a long time in the first moments of the film and then in the next few minutes the walls of the cinema hall seem to constrict more and more and your own throat tightens exponentially, it quickly becomes clear that "Buried - Lebend begraben" is not a film like any other. This thriller, directed in the spirit of Hitchcock, shows us in an impressive way how intense cinema can be beyond elaborate special effects and modern 3D optics. Reduced to the minimum, this film is one of the biggest surprises of the film year 2010! Absolutely recommended!
