Review by Mike Pickle

Buried is not your typical thriller. It is the very definition of unconventional so it deserves an unconventional review. Essentially, it's a man trapped in a box buried beneath the earth for the entire duration of the film. Of course, there is more to it, but to give away the many things that pull the viewer further into the box with this poor man will dampen the experience. I couldn't even figure out if I enjoyed the film or not until I slept on it overnight then talked to a friend about it the next day. What I did figure out immediately is that Ryan Reynolds is one hell of an actor and Rodrigo Cortes is one hell of a Director.

Ryan Reynolds portrays American truck driver, Paul Conroy, who is working in Iraq as a contractor. He awakens bound and gagged in darkness. Upon the frantic lighting of his cigarette lighter he realizes he has been buried alive in a wooden coffin. After the initial panic he finds a working cell phone that has been placed in the coffin with him. A tool that would be much more useful had he not been buried in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Little things that complicate our lives like dropped calls, annoying operators and smug public officials become a life and death ordeal for Paul. He slowly starts to piece together what happened to him. He remembers that he and some other drivers were ambushed and most of them were killed before he blacked out. He was buried and left with a cell phone so he could contact the government and his loved ones to put up a sizeable ransom or they would leave him there to die and we all know that the government does not negotiate with terrorists.

Director Rodrigo Cortes makes the experience so real and Ryan Reynolds makes you feel his frustration so much that it's exhausting to watch. Buried is a filmmaking stunt that needed both of these elements to be truly effective. Otherwise; why would you sit and watch one man in a box for an hour and a half? The reason is that there are not many film concepts that come along that have never been done before and done so well. It's ambitious in it's simplicity and is carefully crafted to be unforgettable.

When deciding whether to see this film you must first decide whether you are willing to be in a small wooden box with Ryan Reynolds for the entire film (not such an unattractive concept to some of you ladies out there I'm sure). If you are willing to make that commitment then I can't imagine this film could have been done any better than it was. The growing hope for him to make it out alive and the carefully placed complications in between make it both maddening and brilliant. It's not a feel good or inspirational film by content, but by the beauty of the execution of the material. Each bar that disappears off the cell phone battery life brings you just a little farther toward the edge of your seat until the heart-racing climax. I can't exactly recommend this film to just anyone because it is not fun, but if you want a unique experience it is worth checking out for the sheer acting genius and filmmaking prowess that went into it.