Reviewed by Kate Rodger
The Box is from the same director who gifted us the brilliant cult hit Donnie Darko, and who has failed to deliver on that promise since.
While The Box is no exception, I’m not sure it’s worth the universal slating it’s had from its critics so far.
It’s the 1970’s, and Cameron Diaz (Something About Mary) and James Marsden (27 Dresses) play happily married couple Norma and Arthur Lewis, embedded in suburbia with their young son. She’s a teacher, he is some kind of rocket-scientist, with plans to go to Mars.
Things start to go downhill, when Norma mysteriously loses her job, and Arthur unexpectedly loses out on a promotion to NASA.
That same day, Norma opens her front door to Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon). He plays the scarred Arlington Steward, who along with horrible burns to his face, has a rather creepy somber air about him. But it’s the 70’s, so she lets him inside all the same.
He has in his possession, a box. This he leaves with Norma, who has 24 hours to decide whether to push the button inside. If she does, someone, somewhere, will die. In return, they get a million dollars, no questions asked.
From here the story becomes far freakier and more convoluted than you might expect, which will engage some, and bore the rest of you to tears.
The Box is certainly flawed, throwing up more questions than it answers. That worked in Donnie Darko, not so much here, lacking emotional depth, general cohesion, and overall tone and mood.
It’s too far outside the box to be a multiplex hit, and neither edgy nor quirky enough for cult classic status. But for all that, I still had to admire the craziness of it all; it reeled me in and certainly kept me guessing. Diaz copes well with a more demanding serious role, as does Marsden, and Langella is stand-out as usual.
Three and a half stars.
The Box
:: Director: Richard Kelly
:: Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
:: Running Time: 115 mins
:: Rating: M - Contains violence
:: Release Date: May 20, 2010
:: Links: Trailer, Official website
