The Box Movie Review
The Box Movie Review
The Gift that Keeps on Taking
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Well, aside from some M. Night Shyamalan movies I've negatively reviewed, I never got so much hate mail in my entire life as I did on my Donnie Darko dismissal. It took a few years for the filmmaker to get it together, but Kelly came out with another movie which I also covered, Southland Tales. That sci-fi mishmash wasn't perfect my any means, but it was kind of a beautiful mess — it had gripping moments and some stunning visuals which have managed to stick with me. So Kelly's work is kind of a mixed bag, in my experience.
I'd heard so many bad reviews on The Box, I decided I wanted to form my own opinion. There were a few things in its favor from the git-go: It's based on a psychological horror story by the venerable Richard Matheson; it takes place in the mid-70s; the cast is top-notch; it isn't overly ambitious and Kelly made the movie in (for him) a hurry.
After a short setup and introduction to Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a suburban couple with a young son named Walter (Sam Oz Stone). An intelligent duo — she's a schoolteacher and he's a NASA nerd — they are both thrown for a loop and have no idea what to do when a disfigured yet distinguished stranger, Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) shows up with an offer. He presents Norma with an innocuous-looking wooden box and tells her, quite matter-of-factly, "If you press this button, Mrs. Lewis, two things will happen. First: Someone, somewhere in the world, whom you don't know, will die. Second: You will receive a payment of one million dollars, delivered by me, tax free."
The Lewis's need money. Norma has a lifelong and painful injury which could possibly be relieved by an expensive surgery, but Arthur has just been mysteriously passed over for what everyone thought was a shoo-in promotion. What to do, what to do? The first half of the film is spent pretty much contemplatively, but then… the button is pushed.
Popcorn-driven moviegoers will undoubtedly direct their Pavolovian predilection for pulverization towards "scarier" movies like 2012 this weekend, but I have to say The Box is the bomb in this case. It's deliberately paced, yes… but it's got real menace and a genuinely paranoid, heavy atmosphere which slinks furtively along the lines of The Twilight Zone, The Conversation, The Shining, The Game, and to me, it is especially reminiscent of the 1970s version of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. (Maybe it's all those The's!) I have to say, most unabashedly, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and now count myself amongst Kelly's cheerleaders.
The acting is excellent. It's hard not to say Langella is the standout, because, well… he's Frank-Fucking-Langella. But Diaz and Marsden prove they've got dramatic chops, and while the ending is just a bit sappy and unbelievable they still sold it right on the money.
Augmenting the performances is gloriously grainy 70s style cinematography, super sets and cool costumes, plus a score that's right out of Kasey Kasem's vintage Hot 100 playlist.
In sum; if I felt Donnie Darko was overrated, then I am definitely saying The Box is underrated. The choice is yours, but I suggest you push that button for your ticket and see it in theaters.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson