What would you do if you were given the opportunity of receiving a million dollars? Unfortunately there is a catch. Someone you don’t know will die. That is the intriguing premise behind “The Box”, a movie that is both thrilling and baffling.
Director/screenwriter Richard Kelly has been waiting a long time to spring another mind trip on people like he did with “Donnie Darko”. That was a movie that became a cult classic after going to video. That was way back in 2001. After that, Kelly wrote the screenplay for the universally panned “Domino” and directed the little seen “Southland Tales”. He was due to bring his furtive mind back to the forefront. What better way to do it than bringing short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson to the big screen. Matheson’s previous work includes “A Stir of Echoes”, “I Am Legend”, “What Dreams May Come” and countless “Twilight Zone” episodes. I was half surprised to not see Rod Serling pop out to explain what lies in store for the characters. Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) are a married couple living in Richmond, Va
in 1976. Norma teaches at a prestigious school and Arthur works at NASA. Their lives seem perfect, but something eerie is adrift. The couple is awoken one early morning by the ring of their bell. A car speeds off and leaves a paper package. Inside is a big red button encased by a covering. A man is scheduled to come by later in the day to explain everything.
Bad news soon follows the couple. Norma learns that the tuition discount will be discontinued for the teachers. This will probably cause her to pull her son Walter (Sam Oz Stone) from the school. Norma also has a disfigured foot that has plagued her since high school. Arthur finds out that his big promotion is not coming and his dreams of a bright future are slowly disappearing.
The mysterious Arlington Steward (Frank Lagella) steps in to solve all their problems with his million dollar dilemma. Norma has some compassion for Steward because the left side of his face is mangled. She can relate to what a deformity can do to a person’s life. Steward though has three rules for Norma to follow. She is not permitted to ask the identity of his employer, only can tell her husband and has 24 hours to decide.
Kelly does a good job in building up the tension of what the couple will do. He picks just the right music to set the mood. They weigh all the options and even come to believe that it might be a hoax. Norma eventually pushes the button, unknowingly setting several things in motion.
Kelly pulls out all the stops after this. The couple tries to return the money to no avail. Steward reveals that they had already made their choice. Arthur gets strange messages from various people. Norma starts to dig up information on Steward. All the while, people all around are getting nose bleeds and following them around like zombies. This is exactly what Kelly wants. He wants you on the edge. The problem though he never knows when to quit. This hurt him on “Donnie Darko” as well. You can throw in zombie people and decisions regarding your salvation, but it sure helps if it makes some sense and ties into the movie. Don’t get me wrong. You will never be bored by “The Box”. You will however scratch your head on a few occasions trying to figure out just what happened on the screen.
The premise turns out to be amazingly simple. Kelly will put you through a complex maze to get to the end game. “The Box” can be maddening, but exhilarating that a filmmaker is willing to go out on the limb.
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