Film Review

‘The Box’

Called upon by a mysterious stranger and presented with a seemingly innocent box, along with the knowledge that pressing its button will not only reward them with $1M in cash but also cause the death of someone they don’t know, happy couple Arthur (James Marsden) and Norma (Cameron Diaz) have 24hrs to make their choice before the offer is retracted.

If this all seems a little bit ‘Twilight Zone’ it should come as no surprise that the film is based on a short story written by sci-fi legend Richard Matheson (I Am Legend), which has previously been made into one of the shows most popular episodes.

Director Richard Kelly, the man responsible for bringing us the brilliantly nightmarish noodle baker ‘Donnie Darko’ way back in 2001, returns with what initially seems like standard studio thriller material. Luckily though, Kelly manages to stay away from conforming to mainstream fodder by delivering an altogether more independent feeling feature.

Even though Kelly must be commended for not taking the well worn commercial route, he does run the risk of dividing his audience by maintaining his love affair with, heaven forbid, asking the viewer to actually think! Dealing with moral and existential questioning, time travel and even ‘2001’ styled montages the film isn’t an easy watch, not unless you’re fully prepared to just go with it.

Being a fan of unconventional films I was fully prepared to do just that but can understand why others would question its inability to conform to standard narrative logic or structure and may be distracted by its pick and mix style of genre. Part thriller, part sci-fi, part horror, it does have elements from a lot of sources and takes influence from just as many. But when it works, why question it?

The only area where the film misses an opportunity is in its inability to draw any empathy for its main characters making it, at least in its introduction, feel a little cold. You could understand if someone in deep financial crises was presented with this situation but here Arthur and Norma seem to base their decision for on keeping their young son in private education. And with Arthur working for NASA and Norma as a school lecturer they are hardly struggling to makes ends meet. You can almost hear them complaining that their wallets are to big for their fifties and that their diamond shoes are to tight!

As the presence of ‘The Stranger’ Arlington Steward - played by an excellent Frank Langella doing his best two-face impression - takes on a more sinister turn, he becomes a fascinating combination of mad man and moral compass. It’s at this point it becomes far easier to warm to the family’s dilemma, especially as every choice they make leads to an increasingly complicated and life threatening situation. Every move they make watched by numerous half zombielike, part ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ cast off ‘employees’ all working for an undisclosed employer, all suffering from mysterious nose bleeds! It soon becomes clear that the Lewis’ family are nothing more than a small piece in a very large puzzle.

Choosing to film digitally alongside the inspired retro soundtrack contributes well to the overall tone of the film, managing to add to the films building feeling of unease.

Fans of ‘Donnie Darko’ will love it, but many won’t appreciate what Kelly has done here and that’s to make a film that will keep you thinking and asking questions long after the credits roll. One of the most obvious being; how well do we really know ourselves?

****