Buried

What: Buried
Where: Nuneaton Odeon
Who: Me, Mark, Alex, Stu, Marv & Sam
When: Tuesday October 05th 2010 at 9:30pm

Before watching this film I was worried that a very late start for a film set mostly in the dark would struggle to keep me entertained for its 90 minutes running time but I did manage to keep my self awake and I was rewarded with a fairly decent far from perfect little indie film.

Lets get something straight right from the off. Whilst this film is enjoyable in its own way it is not the masterpiece that it the critics are saying it is. Far from it. The casting is bizarre and ultimately wrong, the writing is shaky at best and at one point collapses in on itself before managing to pull itself back towards the end. The directing however saves it. It’s very well lit and the sense of confinement does come through in a big way. Claustrophobics will not enjoy this film.

This film is essentially one man trapped in a box for its entire duration. Don’t go in expecting to see flashbacks of how he got there, or scenes of his captures/rescuers because you don’t get them. What you do get is 90 minutes of Ryan Reynolds in a box. And that is the first mistake made in this film, because no matter what happens and how perilous the situation becomes you can’t get past the fact that what you are watching is Ryan Reynolds in a box. What this film needed to be a success is an unknown actor who you could actually believe is a lorry driver working in the hardest of hard circumstances in order to provide for his family. However no director in his right mind would cast an unknown in a 1 man film and that is why this premise whilst a very good idea can never work to its full potential.

I don’t hate Ryan Reynolds. I just don’t like his body of work. He is Rom-coms and gross out comedies and yes he is stereotyped in those roles. I can understand him wanting to break away from them but low budget horror (Amityville horror) and experimental thrillers are not the way to change an audiences perception. It remains to be seen what he can do with the Green Lantern (due for release 17/06/11) that could just be the film that he needs. Buried isn’t.

However this film isn’t all bad. As it reaches it’s conclusion the sense of terror really does keep you on the edge of your seat and the idea of being buried alive is terrifying anyway and watching someone struggle with the realities of it does make you find yourself getting behind him and hoping beyond all hope that he will survive what has to be everybody’s worst nightmare.

In conclusion, for what it is, Buried is a decent film made on a shoe string budget. You shouldn’t go in expecting a big action feature and ignore the one random wildlife scene which is so out of place it should never have been written let alone kept in, Buried at it’s heart is a showcase for Ryan Reynolds acting. It must have been an incredibly tough shoot and so you have to respect him for that. I did enjoy this film but I wouldn’t watch it again and I’d be very selective with who I recommend it too.

6/10