The Box

Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Gillian Jacobs, Sam Oz Stone
Directed by: Richard Kelly
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A husband (James Marsden) and wife (Cameron Diaz) are perplexed when a stranger (Frank Langella) appears with a strange proposition. He gives them a box containing a button. If they push the button, they will receive $1 million, and someone they do not know will die.

Review:

Tim: After enjoying Donnie Darko and appreciating aspects of Southland Tales, I was looking forward to Richard Kelly's film, The Box. The premise was outstanding, and it certainly looked like a pretty chilling thriller. However, even knowing Kelly's directorial tendencies, I was not prepared for such an ambiguous, obtuse, confusing, and seemingly contradictory movie. I love being pushed to think about movies, but I need something to base my thoughts on. I've watched The Box more than once now, and I've spent some time trying to understand its confusing and labyrinthine plot. I can still barely make heads or tales of it, and even after all that work, I am still disappointed in it.

Fans of Richard Kelly can always fall back on the typical criticism of the criticizers- "You just don't want to think enough," or "You missed the point" or something to that effect. Maybe so, but I firmly believe this is not a very good movie- that whatever point Kelly was trying to make got lost in a disappointing, oftentimes silly movie.

I actually loved the first thirty minutes or so. When Kelly sticks with reality, this is a pretty effective movie. I was interested, intrigued, and entertained. However, there reaches a point where the movie comes off the rails, and we have aliens or interdimensional beings, or something beyond my understanding, tests whose results will determine the fate of all humanity, and more. I could not follow the story very well, and I just felt confused. There is something to be said about a movie that makes you work for the answers- a movie that whets your appetite and asks you to think about it long and hard after the movie ended. Sadly, with The Box, it didn't inspire me to do that. I had to work to find some answers, but it was a joyless process. This is where Kelly fails. I barely cared about the answers because I figured there wouldn't be any satisfactory ones. You can criticize my opinion all you want, Kelly lovers, but I feel strongly about it.

The cast is fine, although not great. Cameron Diaz's accent was a bit suspect, but she is mostly fine in the role. I don't have many criticisms of her. James Marsden was pretty good. He worked well in the role, although he did not generate any feelings of any kind in me. He didn't hurt the movie, though. I liked the casting of Frank Langella, although his facial disfigurement made him hard to watch. Still, he gives a chilling, mysterious performance, and easily the best of the film. I also enjoyed seeing Gillian Jacobs in a small role. The cast have several moments where I questioned the validity of their acting. It was almost as if they didn't really understand the movie either, but were just doing their best to act their way through it.

I don't think movies should be dumbed down for audiences. I like complicated, complex, thought-provoking movies. However, I also think movies need to be accessible enough to audiences. Kelly certainly creates a complicated, complex, thought-provoking movie here. However, it is not easily accessible to many people. He missed the mark here. I certainly appreciate the effort and I would be disappointed if Kelly simply tried to make movies for the lowest common denominator. However, with The Box, he just completely misses the mark. I did not enjoy this movie, and I can't imagine there are too many people out there who really, truly did.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Donnie Dorko, Southland Tales, Frost/Nixon