The Film
If you're one of those people that thinks Ryan Reynolds couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, you might want to check out Buried.
In this 95-minute film, there's no bag. Instead, Reynolds is trying to work his way out of a box -- a coffin, to be exact. He plays Paul Conroy, a contractor working in Iraq, who suddenly finds himself six feet under. Armed with a Zippo lighter and the world's greatest cell reception, Paul works through a series of emotions and phone calls. He also finds a bag of tricks, which his abductors have left behind. Unfortunately, it's on purpose, and whoever they are, they keep calling with demands and threats.
Without a doubt, Buried is political. That could deter a lot of people from an interesting, well-made thriller. At its core, Buried is about one of our deepest fears: being buried alive. OK, maybe not. However, the whole claustrophobia thing is downright creepy and consumes the entire movie.
The Picture
Don't expect tons of cool imagery from Buried. That is, unless you can appreciate the look of the inside of a pine box. This 2.35:1 transfer is as dark in imagery as it is in tone. It's gritty and extremely interesting, to say the least. Once Paul finds a flashlight tucked inside his surroundings, things perk up slightly. That said, how great can a movie look that's filmed by flashlight? You have to see it to understand it. There are no blue skies or green fields here. Instead, it's only dirt, sand and desperation. That image is very intentional and intense. It helps that the film is all close-ups. There are no wide angles to lose detail in. Instead, you can almost feel the heat and the pain, and see every pore on Paul's worrisome face.
The Sound
Lionsgate has given Buried a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 channel track. It's sort of a weird title to get that 7.1 treatment. This is the type of movie that we'd expect to stay close to the front speakers, since it's a lot of dialogue. It does deliver that well, but Buried also does its best to use the entire extended soundfield. There are thuds, clicks, scratches, and even the occasional heart-stopping, room-shaking explosion. There's also a whole lot of heavy breathing. While Buried isn't a wild ride, it is a pretty immersive experience -- whether you like it or not.
The Extras
Buried comes packing teaser and theatrical trailers, as well as a standard-def DVD of the film. There's also LG Live features, which allow viewers to tap into "gadgets," such as news, weather and time, as well as Facebook and Twitter integration.
The lone original featurette consists of 17 minutes about the making of the film. Although a lot of it is soaked up with clips, it's actually worth a peek to see just how low budget this low-budget film was. It's very interesting to see how the film was shot, from the perspective of inside the coffin. That said, a commentary would have been nice, as well as a separate short covering the who, how and why behind the voices on the other end of that cell phone throughout the movie.
Final Thoughts
Without a doubt, Buried is a hard movie to watch. Director Rodrigo Cortés taps into his inner-Hitchcock to display a common fear and an unspeakable scenario. Even if you're not claustrophobic, you're going to be. That said, Buried is wonderfully executed from beginning to end. It's also nice to see Ryan Reynolds carry a movie without the need to go shirtless (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Product Details
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