From "Tales of the Unexpected" (ask your granny) to "Kill Bill" the concept of someone being buried alive has been a staple of television and cinema.
I say "staple"...truth be told I'm hard pressed to think of another film/TV show that features someone being buried alive!
In "Buried" we are treated to an entire feature length film set totally within the confines of a coffin buried underground in the deserts of Iraq. The only light comes from a Zippo and the screen of a mobile telephone screen. The only person we see is "Paul", a US contractor working in Iraq, and we never see the outside world.
It is a daring film to make and director Rodrigo Cortes takes the script from Chris Sparling and produces a taut, claustrophobic (no surprise there) and convincing thriller that acts as a simple thriller and as a metaphor for the actions of the US (and, sadly, the UK) in Iraq.
Ryan Reynolds is a revelation as "Paul" and this may well be the role that elevates him from "heart-throb" and supporting actor to leading man. He is a mess of emotions here and all of them are convincing. It's a terrific performance and one that showed a real talent.
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