Buried

Movie: Buried

Cast: Ryan Reynolds

Genre: Drama, thriller

I saw it on: October 2, 2010

Synopsis: Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a Department of Defense contractor working as a truck driver in Iraq.  When his truck hits an IED and is attacked, Paul loses consciousness.  The movie opens with him regaining his senses in a coffin-like wooden box, apparently buried, with only a cigarette lighter and a cell phone.  Paul gets a call from his captors, demanding a ransom.  When he tries to call someone back in the U.S. to help him, things to not go well.  The rest of the movie follows his efforts.

What is interesting is that Ryan Reynolds is the only actor who appears in the movie.  A couple of times they show a glimpse of someone in a video in his cell, but other than that, Ryan Reynolds carries the movie on his own.

My two cents: I thought this was a terrific movie.  The idea of being buried alive in a coffin like this is pretty high on my list of situations I seek to avoid. I do not recall ever seeing a movie that had only a single actor in it.  They saved a lot of money on sets – the entire movie takes place in the box.

As if being buried alive was not enough . . . I almost went into convulsions when he is visited by a friendly neighborhood cobra.  Another scenario that is high on my list of situations to avoid.

The movie is suspenseful and definitely keeps your attention all the way to the end.