Review - The Box
Taking the premise from Richard Matheson's short story Button, Button, Richard Kelly's The Box is an interesting failure.
Set the 1970's the story revolves around a a young couple Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden). One day they receive a package mysteriously dropped off at their front door, inside that package is a box with a red button on it. A Mr. Steward would be seeing them later that afternoon to discuss the box. When Mr. Steward arrives he tells the couple that if they press the button, two things will happen
1. Somewhere, someone they don't know will die.
2. They will receive one million dollars. (You can all make the Dr Evil finger movement...ok stop now)
Thus, kicks off the story which honestly gets lost by being too smart. Kelly's themes from Donnie Darko return which in a film like this didn't really need too. Which is a shame because the first half of the film is pretty good, plenty of suspense and mystery, where the second half just breaks apart at the seams with the film turning from a mystery, suspense film into something completely different.
Marsden and Diaz are quite good, moving the story along nicely but its Frank Langella that rocks in this film. His CGI enhanced (or non-enhanced) Mr Steward certainly steals the show and he almost raises the film up himself, despite limited screen time.
An interesting film but one that doesn't add up to the sum of its parts.
Set the 1970's the story revolves around a a young couple Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden). One day they receive a package mysteriously dropped off at their front door, inside that package is a box with a red button on it. A Mr. Steward would be seeing them later that afternoon to discuss the box. When Mr. Steward arrives he tells the couple that if they press the button, two things will happen
1. Somewhere, someone they don't know will die.
2. They will receive one million dollars. (You can all make the Dr Evil finger movement...ok stop now)
Thus, kicks off the story which honestly gets lost by being too smart. Kelly's themes from Donnie Darko return which in a film like this didn't really need too. Which is a shame because the first half of the film is pretty good, plenty of suspense and mystery, where the second half just breaks apart at the seams with the film turning from a mystery, suspense film into something completely different.
Marsden and Diaz are quite good, moving the story along nicely but its Frank Langella that rocks in this film. His CGI enhanced (or non-enhanced) Mr Steward certainly steals the show and he almost raises the film up himself, despite limited screen time.
An interesting film but one that doesn't add up to the sum of its parts.
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