You wake up completely disoriented. It's dark. It's hot. You suddenly realize you are confined to a very small space. You don't know where you are or how you got there. What do you do? This is Ryan Reynolds dilemma in his latest movie "Buried." The premise of the movie is that simple and that powerful. Most viewers went into this movie knowing nothing more than this and that's the way it should be.
As the film progresses you find out the details of how Reynolds gets in his current predicament. The film is shot all in one location, the box. Ryan Reynolds does an amazing job of truly capturing the emotion of a man seemingly helpless. It takes a very strong actor to carry himself throughout a feature with no real supporting cast. Buried has been compared to movies like Castaway and Phone Booth which were for the most part shot in a single location with focus on one leading man. Tom Hanks and Colin Ferrell had amazing performances but where Reynolds performance differs is he is the only person physically seen on the silver screen. Hanks had a tropical island and Ferrell had New York
Reynolds is an actor who started out mostly with comedic roles. In recent years he has been mixing it up with some rather serious roles. In 2005 he starred in the 1979 remake of The Amityville Horror which was definitely a serious role for Reynolds but was just another subpar horror remake. Reynolds steps out of his comfort zone with this part and deserves at least an Oscar nod for his performance. Reynolds showcases true acting at its best in Buried. Through his facial expressions in low lighting, raw emotion and frustration he makes you feel empathy for this man who at first can’t even fathom how something like this could happen to him. Reynolds has said it was a challenging role for him because he believes everyone has some form of claustrophobia. The sound crew would hear Reynolds have small panic attacks through the microphone in his chest. The entire movie was filmed in seventeen days and it took quite a toll on Reynolds body. He didn’t think it would be such a physical role when he first signed up to do the project. Reynolds has said he slept very little while shooting this movie. Reynolds said he used the pain and discomfort and credits his adrenaline for getting him through.
The director Rodrigo Cortes does a brilliant job using long shots to give the audience an atypical view of someone being trapped in the box. These shots give the illusion of more space but they still don’t comfort you. Cortes also uses very theatrical vivid lighting in these shots to set mood. You feel as if you trapped in a long, narrow, endless tunnel. You don’t have to be claustrophobic to feel the anger, frustration, fear, regret, and sorrow Reynolds character displays. Buried is a thrilling experience that will leave you having to crack a window.
Really liked how you started off by putting your audience in the moment. It was a grabbing intro. It seems to me that this movie would be difficult to review, seeing as there is only one character and one location, but you did a nice job! The only criticism I have is that you say, in so many words, how great of a job Reynolds did a little too often.
ReplyDeleteGood intro and conclusion and it was nice that you compared and contrasted this film to similar movies with a single location.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting review, and I'm glad that you didn't give away the story. I think you repeated "Reynolds" a bit much in the second to last paragraph-I would have liked to hear more about the shots that you described in the last paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI like how you compared the main character to other characters in movies like this one. Maybe state your opinion on the film as a whole rather than just Reynolds performance. Your review was very interesting and convinced me to see the movie. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few sentences that should be re-phrased. The section about Reynolds and what he's done and how well he did in the making of the film was great. I love to have a little knowledge of the 'behind the scenes'. The ending to me seemed a little rushed, as if you ran out of room to get in all that you wanted to. The last sentence was great just because of the theme of claustrophobia.
ReplyDeleteI like how you explained the mood, rather than the plot. My only complaint, though, is that you spent way too much time talking about Ryan Reynolds' process instead of the movie.
ReplyDeleteFor how much you were able to write and not mention a single plot point, bravo. It really is a challenge to try and describe, let alone review such a strange film but you really managed to accomplish it.
ReplyDeleteGood preview of what the viewer is in for, can't stress enough how into it you get when you're watching it and that came through in the review
ReplyDelete