ìThe Box” begins in 1970s suburbia with a seemingly nice couple Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden) suddenly facing economic hardship. It is then that a stranger shows up on their doorstep offering a vast sum of money and a moral dilemma. Norma and Arthur are given the chance at a million dollars; all they need to do is push a button on top of a box within the allotted 24 hour time limit. However, after pushing the button, someone, somewhere, who they do not know, will die. A promising premise, but the uninteresting 45 minutes of back-and-forth dialogue delivered by the spiritless couple almost completely ruins any promise the film ever had. Then an interesting twist in the story occurs, giving the viewers a sense of false hope.
Instead of relief, the newfound storyline only makes the film even worse than before. The film could have been saved if the twist was used as a jumping point onto how the decisions people make are always going to come with consequences. Instead it is used only as a way to delve into absurdity. Even if one is able to take this film seriously, they will ultimately be dissatisfied by the anticlimatic conclusion. The filmís final act provides no answers, only questions. While director Richard Kelly provided a similar sense of confusion in the great film ìDonnie Darko,” this is not at all compelling to watch.
ìThe Box” is the third film from the once-promising director Kelly. Beginning his career with the cult classic ìDonnie Darko,” Richard Kelly was thought to be an up and coming director with a unique and compelling vision. But with the horrid film ìSouthland Tales” and now with this confusing mess of a movie, Kelly appears to instead be joining the likes of M. Night Shyamalan as just another talentless hack of a director.
Diaz does a horrid job playing the worried, anxious, and scared Norma. This is largely based on the fact that she provides a laughable southern accent throughout the film. The accent proves to be a true distraction, as it gives the viewer no chance to experience any scares. Throughout the film just as one was about to gain a sense of fear, Diaz would start to speak with the humorous accent. Marsden doesnít prove to be a much better actor, though unlike Diaz he does not distract the viewer from the promising (but eventually failed) storyline. Frank Langella attempts to save this film with his creepy character, and while he does a great job, the film is† doomed by the confusing and overly ambitious storyline.
Lately the cinema has been filled with many good movies, but ìThe Box” is not about to help such a trend. With the coming of the holidays, one hopes that ìThe Box” doesnít foreshadow a bad holiday season at the movies.