Review of Buried (2010) by Nixy — 26 Sep 2012

A lot of people won't like this film for one simple reason: It is so easy to criticise and so easy to dislike, but the man in the box IS the film. There are no flashbacks, there is no filmed back story, nothing.

The camera is not taken away from him at any given point. Knowing this, I was intrigued as to how the director could go about making this standard length film entertaining, but I was definitely not disappointed.

Firstly, and there is no other way I can think to put this, the 'phantom claustrophobia' you are made to feel in this film is impressive. The acting is brilliant especially considering how difficult it must be to have no set to interact with, let alone any other actors to play off.

So hats off to Mr Reynolds for that. The story is intense and realistic. Sure, there are probably some technical details that are debatable but on the whole, this film is firmly based in reality and as such is that much more interesting yet often difficult to watch.

The plot is deceptively deep in the sense that the political issues it touches upon are both real and relevant and as such, you will find yourself wanting to scream at some of the characters (or voices of characters, should I say) in this film.

I found it thought provoking and different, I'd recommend it to the vast majority of people. It definitely isn't a fast pacing action thriller so if that's your thing then you may struggle with sitting there for 90 minutes.

For others, I will say that there are parts which are difficult to watch and it is quite a 'heavy' film for a number of reasons, so you do have to be in the mood for that sort of film if you want to enjoy it.