The Box

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The Box

38% Liked It
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The Box

James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn, Michele Durrett, Gillian Jacobs

A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who know that opening it will grant them a million dollars and kill someone they don't know.

Id: 11034679

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The Box Recent Reviews
  • 366weirdmovies
    November 30, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A couple receives a mysterious box with a button and instructions that, if they push it, two things will happen: they will receive a million dollars, and someone they don't know will die. Very poorly written, with plot holes, a drawn out middle section full of scenes that are cr...( read more)eepy but have nothing at all to do with the main story, and no real dramatic interest in the main characters' plight. Very diasppointing.
  • moonrivers
    November 18, 2009
    moonrivers
    imagine if the adam and eve story and the twilight zone had a baby and you've got "the box", a taut weird study in the moral and personal ramifications of selfishness. langella rules the day (hello!) as a mysterious force of nature - so greasy you can feel the grease on your fin...( read more)gers whenever he's onscreen, diaz drops the easy strumpet next door routine and grows up finally (and is good at it), while marsden is the dumb wondering stolid adam trying to put their humptydumpty life together again. definitely worth your time.
  • lewiskendell
    November 8, 2009
    lewiskendell
    The Box is a challenging and odd movie. It doesn't hold your hand and guide you through the plot, instead you have to pay attention and figure out what's going on in pieces and fragments. That can be frustrating, but the end result is a movie that will leave you either hating it ...( read more)and thinking it's too convoluted for it's own good, or intrigued and wanting to see it again to make better sense of it all. I think I fall into the latter category.

    The trailer really does nothing to prepare you for the movie you're about to see. It's not exactly a horror movie, but there's a continual thread of menace and fear that underlies the entire film. It's not sci-fi either, though there are some sci-fi elements. I guess if I had to compare it to another movie, I'd choose Donnie Darko. Not because they're particularly similar, but because you have to have a certain open-mindedness and appreciation for something deeper than the average movie experience in order to enjoy them both.
  • shiftyeyeddog
    November 8, 2009
    shiftyeyeddog
    The Box is based on a short story by Richard Matheson, and it most definitely feels like it was supposed to be a short story. There's enough story here to maybe fill an episode of Twilight Zone or Tales From the Crypt (though not a very good one), but stretched thin to fi...( read more)ll two hours, it is excrutiating. By the time we got to the last half hour or so, I didn't even care how it ended, just as long as it ended.

    What story there is starts out slightly intriguing, but it takes some serious wrong turns and the unfolding explanation is head-shakingly awful. One last crime the film commits: being set in the 70's for absolutely no valid reason whatsoever. Adventureland did the same thing earlier this year. Setting the film in that era added NOTHING to this story aside from godawful fashion, hair, and home decor.

    One of the worst films of the year, with the only redeeming quality being another strong performance by James Marsden.
  • DrZeek
    November 7, 2009
    DrZeek
    Arlington Steward: If you press the button, Mrs. Lewis, two things will happen. First: someone, somewhere in the world, whom you don't know, will die. Second: you will receive a payment of one million dollars, delivered by me, tax free.

    There was a particular sequence during t...( read more)his film from writer/director Richard Kelly, of Donnie Darko fame, where I had no clear idea of what was actually happening, but I was intrigued by everything that was going on. A lot of the baggage that comes with the straightforward setup of this movie will likely baffle some and seem preposterous or laughable, and while I can agree with some of it, I can still safely say that even with its flaws, I really enjoyed this film and it certainly shows that Kelly is a talented filmmaker.

    Norma and Arthur Lewis, played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, a suburban couple with a young child in 1976 Virginia, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, played by Frank Langella, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

    Following some certain turns of events, the Lewis's must deal with what the mysterious man is really setting out to accomplish and how they, as well as many others in their town seem to be involved.

    Mr. Steward: I have quite a few employees.

    The atmosphere of this film is well handled, as is the score (which has elements resembling the Twilight Zone aspects of the film's premise). This is fitting, as the film is based off a short story by Richard Matheson, which was eventually adapted into a Twilight Zone short. There are fairly creepy elements (some do come off as laughable though), well handled scenes in terms of visual sense and emotional connection between the two leads.

    I actually don't think I've enjoyed Cameron Diaz in any film in quite a while, so it was nice to see her do great work here, playing a character with a particular problem from her past and real emotional weight when dealing with the concept of this box. Also faring well is James Marsden, finally stepping out of the role of the unfortunate boyfriend traded in for another (Cyclops, Lois Lane's lame boyfriend in 'Returns'), and now playing a confident and smart lead, working for NASA and devoted to his wife and child. Langella is also solid as the mysterious Mr. Steward, whose face is disfigured and whose presence is proper but unsettling.

    Mr. Steward: There are always consequences.

    As the film progressed I was reminded of three things that I found relatable to the way this film was presented. Those are: David Fincher's 'The Game.' Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the visual style of Stanley Kubrik. All of these elements, along with the other themes concerning science vs. faith, emotional limits, and a few other factors that are present in Kelly's other films, are all put forth here into what is Kelly's most accessible film yet.

    Armed with a studio, big name leads, and a proper budget, its nice to see that Kelly has accomplished a complete film that he was most likely able to complete while settling into a realm where studio pressures didn't too much hinder his creative vision.

    I very much enjoyed this film, which may not be for everyone, but certainly kept me intrigued throughout.

    Arthur Lewis: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
  • Travieso176
    December 8, 2009
    Travieso176
    awsome suspense scifi thriller what if nice joint to see.
  • scottydgibbs
    December 8, 2009
    scottydgibbs
    from richard kelly he of donnie darko,comes another twisted tale.which is much more than the title suggests,taking in the 70s setting,which looks great, and a family being given a choice, and the effects this desision has on the when a strange man offers a couple 1 million doller...( read more)s to push a button,andsomewhere someone will die,events from here turn, the couple must look into themselves for a desision. richard kelly directs brillantly, a great menaceing score helps a lot, and mardsen and diaz are exellent. not as mindbending as darko, but it certainly has its moments and not knowing where we are heading certainly helps, taking in nasa conspiracys, a vital part of story,and using the 70s just like he did using 80s for darko, forget southland tales, kelly is back
  • eiskrap
    December 8, 2009
    eiskrap
    Man with half a face give Cameron Diaz a box, if she presses the button she gets a million, but somebody that she doesn't know will die.
  • Arlecchino
    December 7, 2009
    Arlecchino
    Judging from what I've heard so far I'm definitly going to see this.
    FYI: James Marsden and I are born on the same date, different years.
  • goodbutbad2
    December 7, 2009
    goodbutbad2
    Hated it. I left before it was over. Between the random nosebleeds, the idea that Salvation is one of three holes in the floor, and the "sycronized swimming" style hallway chases, I couldn't take any more. Pass this movie up... unless disappointment is your thing.
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