Buried - Dig Deep

An hour and a half in a box with Ryan Reynolds may not sound like a particularly terrifying ordeal, but Buried - the low-budget, indie film from little-known Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes - is a hard-hitting, claustrophobic and ultimately heart-rending movie about the casualties of war.

Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, a truck driver who is kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq and awakes to find himself buried somewhere in the desert with nothing but a phone, a knife and a Zippo for company. His kidnappers demand that he secures $1 million from the American Embassy in exchange for his freedom, but Paul’s attempts to call his company, his family and even the FBI are met by interrupted signals, hold music and voicemails as he races against time to find rescue before he runs out of air.

Reynolds – best known for playing smart-arse sidekicks - effortlessly carries the film, proving to his critics that he can handle the drama as well as the comedy. It takes a fantastic performance to keep an audience entertained throughout a film like this, and he delivers: crying, shouting, swearing, screaming and finally begging for his life. We hear his laboured breathing for a full minute before we see him, appearing out of the darkness in the flickering light of the Zippo. The anxiety and peril mount throughout the film, the only relief for the audience coming when the camera pans away into darkness for a few seconds between scenes.

Buried is also a very angry film, a powerful message against war and the senseless deaths of so many young men and women. In a particularly devastating scene, Paul’s boss proves he is more concerned with the company’s policies and reputation than he is with his employee’s life.

Cortes has created a bold and tense thriller that doesn’t let up until the heart-stopping finale. It will have you on the edge of seat, and by the end you will be gasping for breath and praying for daylight.

CMD