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Being buried alive is a nightmare like no other. It certainly feels as though it should be feared by all, at least it was for me after I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Premature Burial” at age 7. The fact that you can move and scream but not a single soul hears you is petrifying. I still think about it these days and just the thought chills my spine.
In “The Phone Booth,” Paul Conroy is completely in the dark as he came to with absolutely no vision. Paul Conroy is a coffin maker from the United States. All his life he had the worst job in the world and now, in his 40s, is waking up inside a coffin. Everything seems black from his viewpoint so he feels around him and luckily finds a lighter. With the lighter, his worst fears are realized. There’s an ominous phone in the dark with a light already on indicating that he has been abducted and is currently a hostage inside a coffin.
It is crystal clear that his kidnappers want him to use the phone. They want to show that he is indeed alive because there is a ransom that needs to be extorted. At this juncture, we completely understand Conroy’s sumptuous but futile search for assistance. Who does he call that would save him from the suffocating coffin? To his relief, the coffin is longer than expected so it contains more oxygen and provides angles for the camera that enable more action.
Simply put It is engaging. One would not expect a lot of action from a movie set in a confined space such as a coffin. However, this is where the creativity of director Rodrigo Cortes and writer Chris Sparling comes in. They go above and beyond and explain more than one would expect. Additionally, some shots do seem to be from outside the coffin. However, they are placed in an undefined area and look as if they are from above the set.
Paul (Ryan Reynolds) communicates through a phone and makes calls to the 911 emergency responders, the Pentagon, his employer’s office, and even his wife. He also receives calls from his captors. These calls are exercises in frustration. However, he keeps receiving phone calls which are rather irritating. In simpler words, there are a lot of problems that are much worse than being confined in a coffin. Being placed on hold while you’re buried alive is rather irritating.
Making the choice to not feature any shots depicting the characters he is calling is a smart move by the filmmakers. No dual shots of 911 operators and Pentagon generals. No clips of corporate posters. No footage of the wife who is left behind. There are no memories of the attack and kidnapping. sane footage of his wife. This is a very clever way to illustrate the power of audiobooks and radio dramas where the mental images are far more intriguing than reality. The only thing that is guaranteed is a feeling of relief. Along with Paul, we seek to go to the other end of each call.
We might as well leave off discussing some of the events that occur within the coffin itself. It is worth mentioning that all of them are technically possible. There is no enchanting realism here. Just the context of the situation. The film “Buried” is reported to cost $3 million. In one way, that is fairly low. In another way, it is more than enough for what director Cortes aims to achieve, which includes his special effects and the voice work from everyone on the other side of the call.
Ryan Reynolds’ movements are constrained and he is in a preordained coffin, yet, he manages to bring life albeit a constrained one to the character. The 94-minute running time does not feel excessive. Clowns in wide-screen takes are more gory than scary, and in this case, the movie looks shallower. This usage of a 2:35 wide screen makes the feeling of claustrophobia stronger than before. Being buried alive is something I would never, ever want to experience.
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