170,000 miles of desert. 90 minutes of oxygen. NO WAY OUT.

Buried directed by Rodrigo Cortes

Ryan Reynolds attends a special screening hosted by The Cinema Society at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, New York on September 16, 2010.

I was pretty excited when I first saw the trailer for Buried. The concept of being buried alive is an old one when it comes to films, but I don't think there's a movie out there quite like this one. This is a full-length film with just one actor, one set, one wardrobe, limited lighting options and only a small number of camera angles to work with. It's everyone's worst nightmare, and I can imagine a lot of people wouldn't be too keen on seeing it. But beyond that, I find it incredibly refreshing. Here we are, with the year 2010 drawing to a close, and it sure was a big year for cinema. James Cameron wowed us all with his 3D revolution Avatar...Christopher Nolan created a world where our minds are the scene of the crime with his trippy thriller Inception, and there were plenty more offerings with jaw-dropping special effects and digital enhancements. Hell, all you have to do is count the number of movies that were released in 3D this year. So, with that in mind, it's simply amazing that there was a director brave enough to take on Chris Sparling's mesmerising, but limiting screenplay Buried. That's where Rodrigo Cortes comes in. Don't be surprised by the amount of attention this film receives; it really is brilliant. It's shot beautifully, every scene is as dynamic as the last, the cast (yes, the WHOLE ENTIRE cast of one man), is effortlessly fantastic, the story is intriguing and suspenseful 100% of the time and the ending will haunt you long after you walk out of the theatre.

Director Rodrigo Cortes at the premiere in Madrid, Spain at the the Palafox cinema, September 27, 2010.

If you haven't heard what Buried is all about, here's some info. Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is an American truck driver working in Iraq, and he wakes up, bound and gagged, inside a coffin which he soon realises is buried underground. All that's in there with him is a lighter (a really good one, that thing blazes!), a pocket knife, and a cell phone. Oh, and he later finds his anxiety pills and flask, luckily (being buried alive tends to leave Paul feeling a little tense). The format of this movie is very clever; at first we know nothing, and we're not told anything in a hurry. Here's where this movie is immediately different. The audience isn't bombarded with noise, conversation or a quick succession of vivid shots. In fact, the first ten minutes of the film are completely shrouded in darkness. The first 2-3 minutes are actually completely black AND silent. The cinema I was in started twitching, shuffling around...people were twisting in their seats to check that the projector was still functioning. One by one, we each started laughing quietly to each other, and one guy commented audibly "good movie." Then, about 3 or 4 minutes in, the silence was broken by muffled coughing. I almost thought it was just a person in the room. But no, it was Paul slowly waking up (still blackness). More coughing. Then BANG. And another BANG. I thought "okay, straight into it..." Paul realises he's not tucked safely in his bed (although i suppose the binds around his hands and the gag might have been a tip off. But you never know...some people are into that?) Then we hear some nice wheezy hyperventilation, and by nice I mean believable. I'm asthmatic myself, so hearing him breathing like that really made me uncomfortable. Then we hear some fumbling, then the sound of a lighter. Let there be light! Like I said, it's about 10 minutes before we see Paul's face. And he looked exactly how you'd imagine you would look upon awaking inside a pitch black coffin. Panicked, terrified, confused, dirty, sweaty, shocked. Paul manages to get his binds off and takes a minute to observe his current situation. Then, from the space below his feet, Paul and his audience (us) hear the single most welcome sound when in a position like that: the vibration of a mobile phone. Hallelujah! Paul thinks so to...he lunges for it, misses the call but gets to work calling anyone he can think of, and that's when we start to get some information. Like his name. The fact that he's a truck driver and that he's in Iraq (this was a total surprise to me). Then we get some more knowledge as to how Paul ended up here (his convoy of trucks was ambushed, but he doesn't remember anything after blacking out). Basically, we are learning everything at the same time as the people on the other end of the line. This kind of film-making gets the audience involved on a much more personal level; we feel like we are getting to know Paul, and Reynolds portrays him in such a way that we quickly care deeply about him. He's impatient, kind of rude, swears a lot and you could say he has a short fuse when people put him on hold. But the nice guy inside him is understandably unavailable at the time. The rest of the film is a dimly-lit, edge-of-your-seat thriller, with Paul trying desperately to save himself with the only resources at his disposal: the phone, and his instincts.

Writer Chris Sparling, Actor Ryan Reynolds & Director Rodrigo Cortes posed for photos at a news conference for Buried at the Toronto Film Festival, September 13, 2010.

If you're claustrophobic at all, I wouldn't recommend you see Buried. There is absolutely no break in the tight atmosphere Paul has found himself in, and the fact that the environment doesn't change at all may not suit you. It's rated R, naturally, but don't be fooled. It's not a bloody action movie...it's more a psychological R than a physical R. The situation could be viewed as distressing, to put it lightly. But if you're ready for a unique example of a highly suspenseful thriller with some heavy emotion, Buried will take your breath away. All of it.

NOW HEAR THIS: Obviously, there's no soundtrack BUT the score is great. In particular, the opening sequence has some seriously creepy music...if you're into film scores like me, you'll find Buried's interesting.