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'The Box': Suspenseful but forgettable
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A scene from The Box - Image courtesy of Warner Bros.
Director Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”) brings to the silver screen a mysterious tale that carries the ultimate moral dilemma. Based on Richard Matheson’s short story "Button, Button", “The Box” is a visually stunning feat with a haunting pace that will satisfy most sci-fi fans.
The film is set in 1976 and follows Norma Lewis, decently performed by Cameron Diaz, and her husband Arthur (James Marsden) who are an average couple living beyond their means in suburban Virginia. But their lives take a sudden turn when a strange man offers them a solution in the form of a million dollars, if they push a button within a wooden box. But unlike most game show results, pushing the button means that someone they don’t know will die instantly; which is the main theme in the short story as well.
Kelly crafts well-rounded main characters in the script that anchor the plot but at times the exposition takes a long time. Even though he is trying to build a connection with the audience to the Lewis’ predicament, before and after pushing the button, he forgets about moving the haunting narrative along. And so the film itself feels much longer than its actual running time – and the tantalizing ending leaves an empty feeling.
“The Box” is an impressive horror film, visually dazzling – due to Kelly’s meticulous depiction of the times – and with a story that will attract some of the director’s fans and audiences alike. But keep in mind, just like in the film there are consequences – one of them is the snail-moving sequence of events that makes it all forgettable.
For more info: Tickets and showtime at Fandango
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