Reviewed by Melissa Garza
“Your home is a box. Your car is a box on wheels. You drive to work in it. You drive home in it. You sit in your home, staring into a box. It erodes your soul, while the box that is your body inevitably withers… then dies. Where upon it is placed in the ultimate box, to slowly decompose.” -Arlington Stewart (Frank Langella)
The film opens in 1976 where a young married couple Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden) receive a mysterious box on their porch. Inside the box lies a big red button. Neither know where it originated from, but later Norma is visited by Arlington Stewart (Frank Langella). Stewart explains that the box is actually an offer. If the couple pushes the red button two things happen; they receive a million dollars and someone who they don’t know dies. To prove that he is legitimate he leaves behind a one hundred dollar bill.
When Norma tells Arthur of Stewart’s arrival, he wants to call the police. He believes the whole thing to be a sick prank. He takes the box apart and reveals that there isn’t any type of transmitter which makes him think further that the whole thing isn’t real. Still not being able to get his mind off of the box, Arthur brings the money to work and runs a test proving that it isn’t counterfeit. When he arrives home, he tells Norma of the test and they contemplate whether or not to press the button. They discuss the consequences and finally without warning, Norma presses it.
Stewart returns with the million dollars and Norma asks if the box is going to be reprogrammed. She is told that it will be and be given to someone that they don’t know implying that they are going to be next. They immediately try to give the money back, but Stewart just drives away.
Soon, it is shown that the death that Norma brought about was the wife of someone who worked at NASA just like Arthur. The movie loses focus and adds much filler for awhile until it’s discovered that Arlington, too worked at NASA when he is seen in a picture. There’s a predictable outer space connection that is talked about throughout the film and really is merely a plot point to pull the whole box situation together.
The best part of the film is the clear indication that everything that happened to the married couple even prior to pushing the button was orchestrated for the test. Arthur failing a psychological exam thus hindering his job, Norma’s inability to pay for tuition for their son Walter because of a new rule placed into motion by the school she teaches at all happen right before receiving the box. This would have been a fantastic element to the story if it hadn’t been pounded into the head of the viewer as if they were too stupid to catch on.
The ending is predictable and though some hail this as an intelligent movie, it is no more-so than films and books before it with the same message. As a ½ hour story this would’ve played out fantastically. It’s very reminiscent of the old tale “The Monkey’s Paw.” Still, “The Box” thinks too highly of itself and instead of telling the simple story of a couple that makes a bad decision and faces consequences, involves a super natural element that is intended to reveal a bigger design, but fails to deliver.
Overall, “The Box” is worth watching – once. The acting is decent though Cameron has been getting awful reviews for her ability. Admittedly, her southern accent was laughable, but otherwise she did as best as one could with the role given. Likewise, Marsden wasn’t a standout performer but wasn’t awful either. On the upside, Langella was fantastic and shined in a rather dull forgettable film.
Scared Stiff Rating: 5/10
