Warner Brothers | USA | 115 min.
The Box is a sci-fi thriller with old school style and sensibility. Richard Kelly’s latest is reminiscent to films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and other classic paranoia driven films. Similar to those genre classics, this is a buildup that doesn’t disappoint. His third feature is ambitious and a highly entertaining drama with science fiction elements as a backdrop.
Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) and her husband Arthur (James Mardsen) live a normal and average life together with their only son. They’ve recently hit hard times though, they don’t have the biggest cash flow. Norma is a private school teacher and Arthur works for NASA. One morning a mysterious box is left on their doorstep with no explanation to be found. Soon they find out what power the box truly holds when Norma is visited by a mysterious scarred stranger named Arlington Steward (Frank Langella). Steward simply explains that when you push the red button on the box, you’ll receive one million dollars a long with a dead corpse on your hands. They’ll have to live the consequence of having someone they’ve never met die while they get the benefits. Like most people probably would, they push the button. Soon they find themselves caught in way over their heads with Arlington, his employees, and even his employers.
The story is a little outlandish an preposterous, but that adds to the peculiar charm. The film earns immediate involvement from the opening. There’s no generic heavy exposition nor a heap of bickering about whether or not to push the button. All this is decided in the first thirty minutes. The film revolves around the repercussions of Norma and Arthur’s decision. It’s a tale of morality about human nature. The fantastic aspect about The Box is the build up filled with tension and paranoia. There’s never a moment of suspense that’s not earned. While the film is consistently engaging with Norma and Arthur at the center of it, Arlington’s side story is the most fascinating. He’s a mysteriously classic figure who drives the story At first his intentions are unknown, but they are later explained in a classic cheesy science fiction way.
A major flaw to be found in this overall strong film is Cameron Diaz. She isn’t up to par compared to the rest of the cast. She doesn’t earn her sentimental moments nor does she ever make one feel the emotional weight of her actions and feelings. Diaz is a decent enough lead, but gets ultimately overshadowed by James Mardsen and especially Frank Langella.
Mardsen once again certifies himself as a perfect leading man. Marsden makes all of Arthur’s actions and feelings actually carry an emotional weight. He crafts Arthur into a character that questions nearly every thing including his own decisions, he’s the most understandable and developed character. As stated earlier, Arlington Steward is the standout due to Langella’s powerful onscreen presence. Langella makes for a charming and yet dangerous antagonist. He’s pulling all the strings and yet always keeps his cool. He has the capability of becoming an iconic genre character.
This marks Richard Kelly’s third film and this visual marvel truly certifies him as true talent. Kelly fills the screen with beautifully dark imagery to perfectly framed shots. This is Kelly’s most visually low key film yet aka no long tracking shots or a hefty amount of camera movements. He brings an aesthetic and framing that works perfectly for this story with it’s old fashion way of storytelling. Kelly build suspense easily with his dark aesthetic and Arcade Fire’s fantastic score. Kelly creates a buildup that churns with suspense as it goes along. He’s made his most mature work to date and his most dramatically character driven film yet.
While there certainly are a few problems such as Diaz’s performance and a few other nitpicks, The Box remains very entertaining and even thought provoking. It’s a downward spiral full of characters that are easy to care for. Kelly has created a visually striking and thematically involving film that harkens back to a storytelling time we miss.