It's Just Movies

— by TOM ELCE —

Ryan Reynolds is quite literally living in a box as U.S. contractor Paul Conroy in “Buried,” an upcoming thriller from director Rodrigo Cortes. A clearly claustrophobic experience, Cortes’ biggest movie to date lands Reynolds’ character in a single setting for what seems to be the duration, a chance to exercise the kind of filmmaking techniques likely to bring to mind recent horror movies like “[•REC],” a move that seems likely to provide narrative interest for a significant period of the run time. Whether Cortes and Reynolds can sustain the same level and suspense for the duration is another thing, but thus far “Buried” looks to be one of the most intriguing releases headed our way.

At the least, this clip is noticeably rich in the kind of intense atmosphere potential viewers would hope to find, catching up with unfortunate Paul as he seemingly gives into the demands of the people responsible for putting him there. It’s a perfectly played seen on the part of Reynolds, believably desperate and terrified as he frantically communicates with his captors via telephone, the walls of the box he’s buried in ever prominent in the background. It probably doesn’t seem like the most tricky actorly task to portray the same level of fear throughout, but Reynolds does appear to be in his element, allowing skeptics to forgive him for appearing with facial hair in another of his ‘serious’ starring roles.

The focus of the plot appears to center around not only Paul organising his escape from his death trap but actually piecing together the story of how he got into such a position. Naturally, he’s got amnesia, so expect to see details of his escapades in everyday life and the events immediately prior to his capture emerge as the filmmakers attempt to retain some degree of storytelling stucture. Needless to say, it all appears to be somehow linked to a recent attack by a group of Iraqis.

There’s no solid to way to guage the credentials of the filmmakers involved here, since “Buried” sees both its director and its writer – Chris Sparling – exercising themselves outside of their more obscure previous filmographies. The cast, for what it’s worth, looks to be acceptable enough, provided you’re familiar with the prior roles of lead Reynolds and backers as Stephen Tobolowsky. The rest are a mystery. What other info is there to go on? The film’s been a hit at Sundance, currently boasting a 9.0 rating at the Internet Movie Database and two positive reviews out of three at Rotten Tomatoes. Not much to go on, but here’s hoping.

“Buried” ran at Sundance on Jan. 21, and is being distributed by Lionsgate.

Source: Trailer Addict

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