Grade: C
When one thinks of ambition, one usually thinks of films such as Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” or James Cameron’s “Avatar,” films that are grand in scope and epic to the umpteenth degree. “Buried,” however, exists on the opposite end of these films, spending the entirety of its runtime inside a single wooden coffin with only Ryan Reynolds to hold down the proceeding events.
In it’s own way, “Buried” is just as ambitious either of 2010’s biggest epics; its ambitions lie not in scale, but in its aim of pushing the audience to places its never been, of building an entire movie on one performance in one 95-minute endurance test of human physicality.
Earnest in execution and clearly envisioned with the most noble of intentions, “Buried” is unlike anything else currently in theaters; yet in spite of all this, it is a film that failed to impress me in almost any conceivable way.
Before I go any further, let me just say that this may be the first time in my short tenure that I’ve recommended a film that I absolutely hated.
I think films like “Buried” absolutely deserve an audience, and in a film that’s as sincerely well crafted as this, it would be a disservice to suggest that you shouldn’t check it out.
If anything, I suggest you check it out as soon as possible, as I think the divide that will sprout between those who absolutely love the film in every way and those who will want nothing more than wish they were the one’s buried instead of sitting through another showing should stir up some real debate. Any movie that can do that deserves a recommendation.
If you don’t want to know any more about the movie before seeing, stop reading here; you’ve got my recommendation to go check it out. Otherwise…
To give a summary of plot would be pointless, as what little intrigue I found with the film was in the slow-burn reveal of why Ryan Reynolds’ Paul is, in fact, buried. Who buried him? Why is he here? And how is he able to get such fantastic cell phone reception six feet under ground in the middle of a dessert?
To me, the film is little more than a never-ending series of plot holes and lapses in judgment, on behalf of all characters involved. If you’re looking for logic, look elsewhere.
The plot wouldn’t be a big deal if the actual experience was any fun, but the fact is that “Buried” is a bore. There’s no tension in any of the puzzles that Paul Conroy faces along the way, whether its reaching from one end of the coffin to the other to reach a cell phone, or whether he’ll be able to find a pen before a phone number is read in it’s entirety (and yes, those are actual scenes in the movie).
Reynolds, an actor who continually displays such charisma and excitement for characters who have no right to be so much fun, brings at least some of the spark back that’s so lacking from the rest of the film.
His usual smarm manages to thrive amidst the doom and gloom of being underground, and his character is certainly given a few fun lines to help bring some humor to his situation.
Reynolds makes the most of his circumstances, but frankly, there’s no reason a million other actors couldn’t have done just as good of a job as he did, which may be more of a testament to the script than anything else.
But Paul is so underdeveloped, and so pointlessly stranded that you’re never given even a hint of emotion to grasp on to. Yes, he’s underground and he has a wife and kid at home. Why am I supposed to care? It’s sad, but it rarely achieves anything beyond amateur melodrama.
Rodrigo Cortés makes the film as adventurous as its concept will allow, and certainly has some fun with the camera and making the audience wonder how exactly he got some of the shots he did.
If nothing else, you will absolutely believe you are inside of a coffin six feet underground.
I really struggled with “Buried” and deciding how I felt about it. I can’t tell you I enjoyed it, far from it, but I can tell you that it’s a movie worth giving your time.
The ambition is undeniable, and the fact that the very concept of a guy being stuck in a coffin was ever made into a movie is a mini-marvel in and of itself.
I didn’t dig “Buried,” but you might (Pun absolutely intended).
Did you see “Buried” this weekend? Let me know what you thought in the comments below.
Contact the reporter at vburnton@asu.edu
