Buried

“what’s in the box?”

Ryan Reynolds in a coffin. It may be the simplest of premises, one that requires little effort in writing and even less in conception, but don’t be fooled, there’s a lot more than meets the eye with this particular flick. Buried deviates from general conventions as it tries to carve out a different approach to how a story is told by giving us a bold, satisfying and extreme version of filmmaking, even if it can be ladened with apparent plot holes.

What this film does right from the get-go is setting up its one and only character in this extremely dire situation, never letting go of its single location, the coffin. Buried takes place in and around Paul Conroy as the camera weaves in and out, up and down and side to side, exploring the entire frame and tight edges of this 8 by 2 wooden box. This alone deserves praise as director Rodrigo Cortes creatively finds new ways to tell this story, which can easily drift into the prosaic if not for its innovative sequences to keep us engaged. Ryan Reynolds is another key component as to why Buried stays afloat, delivering a pulsating and vigorous performance inside this very restrictive frame. It’s a brave choice for both him and Cortes but perhaps that’s why Buried remains compelling. It challenges the rhetoric by choosing to be different, unfortunately, this is also the reasoning behind its flaws. The plot holes that are unearthed in Buried are evident and only serve to move the story to its final conclusion. There’s only so much you can do in the confines of a casket and this film quickly starts to notice its own limitations.

Still, there’s plenty to admire with Buried, its stylistic approach deserves credit and the cinematic restraints it creates is unlike any other. This will certainly inspire other directors, if it hasn’t already, to challenge their own boundaries in filmmaking and perhaps also introduce more risk and experimentation in cinema.