Based on the short story ‘Button, Button’ by Richard Matheson, The Box tells the story of a fairly average 1970’s married couple (aside from the fact that he works for N.A.S.A. and she’s a little deformed), who have a strange box delivered to their door at the height of their money troubles. Inside the box is a button, a button that if pushed will earn them one million dollars, but cost the life of somebody they don’t know.
The husband, Arthur Lewis (James Marsden, 27 Dresses), is of course sceptical to begin with; believing that the whole thing is some elaborate practical joke, and that they should just press the button and get the joke over with; but his wife Norma (Cameron Diaz, My Sister’s Keeper) is more reluctant, just in case it would claim the life of some poor, unsuspecting, soul. In the end however, as a result of the offers short time limit, and their money troubles, she relents, and pushes the button; not realising that the offer will then be made to another couple whom they don’t know, meaning that they themselves could be the victims of the next pushed button.
What follows the button pushing, is a well paced and fairly tense thriller, in which the husband and wife both attempt to track down the mysterious Arlington Steward (Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon); the man with the burnt face who made them the illustrious offer; find out exactly what the purpose of his experiment is, why the offer was made to them, and most importantly ensure that they themselves do not perish simply because another greedy couple decides to push a tiny red button.
Their quest takes them on a very odd, suspenseful, and turbulent journey, where Mr. Steward seems to know exactly what they are up to every step of the way, thanks to his seemingly endless stream of employees, who often give the Lewis’ little clues to what is really going on, but generally provide more questions than they do answers; as is the case with any good mystery.
The story itself is intriguing, yet at the same time fairly predictable and pointless; because in truth, how many people would actually refuse to push the button if they were really going to receive a tax-free million, in cash, simply for allowing somebody they have never met, and will never even hear about, die? The answer of course is next to no-one, yet that is the general idea behind the story, and Mr. Steward’s experiment, raising questions about the morality of the average person, and once you realise that this is the film’s entire premise, it becomes blatantly obvious where it’s going to end up. However it is still entertaining, and interesting, to watch the story play out, and find out exactly how the Lewis’ come to their final fate.
Cameron Diaz gives a very strong performance in her role, particularly during some of the extremely turbulent emotions that her character has to go through (including having school children laughing at her disfigurement), and despite being a little whiny, and having a hugely annoying accent (a southern accent which she lays on very thick, but actually pulls of fairly well), gives a solid and believable portrayal, of a solid and fairly believable character.
James Marsden is also very good in his role, and adds a great deal of depth and realism to his character (who is actually based on director Richard Kelly’s father, and Diaz’s character his mother); seeming both angry and confused every step of the way, and doing his utmost to protect his family from the experiment that is being conducted by Mr. Steward; a part played to perfection by Frank Langella, whose voice and appearance add an extra layer of depth to his mysterious quality, that is unshakable, and reminiscent of the smoking man from The X-Files.
Unlike The X-files however, The Box couldn’t hope to captivate as many viewers, or even the ones it does grab for such a length of time; but even though it has been adapted from a short story it never feels unnecessarily dragged out; and even though it is suitably mysterious and vague throughout, it is still perfectly predictable from beginning to end, and has an explanation that many will feel is a simple cop-out, and not at all what they were expecting.
It’s not a movie that will appeal to everyone, especially those who like their films plastered with action, fast cuts, and naked women, but mystery lovers should get something out it, as it is an interesting watch that will leave viewers thinking about their moral choices and whether or not they would consider pressing such a button (although by the end the answer should be obvious). It’s got a decent cast, a convoluted plot, and a mystery button that kills people and doles out cash, so has potential, but will likely fail to astound anyone that watches.
Picture:
Like the film itself, the 1080p transfer given to The Box has its ups and downs, (thankfully more of the former); faithfully rendering the director’s intentions for the film by having a distinctly 70’s look, that is achieved by having a level of softness, a colour palette, and a general aesthetic, that is akin to the films that were released in that era.
Contrast levels are excellent, and the fleshtones are fairly natural (although sometimes slightly bronzed, due to the 70’s film effect), as are the wintry colours used, and the deep and inky blacks. The digital effects look fairly impressive most of the time; with the most notable example being the scarred face of Arlington Steward; but are not always up to scratch, as the towering boxes of water seen several times looks very much like the effects used on Donnie Darko.
Detail and textures are also very strong, and the films thin layer of grain never becomes obtrusive, but where it does fail is with a few small instances of ringing and aliasing that are evident, although never too imposing so as to be that distracting from the main feature.
The Box has been given a fairly good transfer, and one that will likely please its director, as the detail level and colours are more than acceptable, and only let down by a few small print errors. The film’s apparent softness may put some people off, and cause them to think of this as a bad transfer, however that isn’t the case, as the soft look is an intentional effect that makes the film seem like it has jumped straight out of the 1970’s, and so should not be a factor when judging this otherwise solid transfer.
Audio:
Even more impressive is the 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that has been awarded to the picture, and is not only well made, but totally engrossing, and impressively subtle yet strong, right from the first typewritten text that graces the movies opening seconds; instantly exhibiting some the impressive pans that will grace the soundfield throughout the film.
Likewise the audio’s directionality is decent, and the ambience which fills the rear channels is most welcome, and helps to accurately recreate the 70’s landscape that is pictured. All of the above sounds are both smooth and clear, but the movies dialogue however is not as well represented, as even though it is fairly clear, it is not always suitably prioritised, and often fights, against the film’s score or other action, to be heard.
It’s a fairly immersive track, that adequately reproduces the sounds it needs to, and will stun listeners in a number of places, but being as this is neither an action heavy movie, or a soundtrack that has pristine dialogue reproduction, it can’t be considered as perfect, but is never hard to listen to, and never becomes distracting, as viewers will be far more concerned with trying to piece together exactly what is going on during the movie.
Extras:
The special features included in The Box are rather disappointing; they consist of an audio commentary handled solely by director Richard Kelly, which becomes very dull, very fast, despite him never growing silent, and providing a great deal of production information that should please fans (he just could of used somebody else to play off, as he does tend to drone on), a feature titled ‘Grounded in Reality’, where Kelly talks of his love for the original short story and the process he undertook to develop it into a feature length film, as well as the personal influences on the film, including adding in massively important chunks of his parents lives (which actually makes up about half of the film), and interviews with his parents.
There are also a couple of short visual effects featurettes, that show how Mr. Steward’s face was designed and implemented, how the 70’s setting was realistically achieved, and how the Donnie Darko style water effects were achieved; an interesting, but all too short collection; an interview with Richard Matheson (the author of the original short story), in which he discusses his career and the development of the story (among other things), but never gives his opinion on The Box; and a few short films that serve as prequels for the main feature, but add little to it.
The extras included are not bad, but cannot be accurately labelled as bonus features, as while they may be interesting and contain a wealth of information, there is little input from anyone but Richard Kelly, and the sum total of the features (discounting the audio commentary) only adds up to around the 30 minute mark. It’s enough to satisfy most fans (just about), but can no way be described an an extensive collection of features.
The Bottom Line:
If The Box were to be summed up in one word, that word would most likely be average; the idea of a button, delivered in a box, that will dole out a cool million dollars if pushed, and only cost the life of somebody you don’t know (which basically seems like a free million, considering that your life will not be affected by the death in anyway), is an interesting thought and conversation piece, but makes for a fairly predictable film.
The film’s mystery elements are still quite intriguing, and it does have its suspenseful moments (even if the outcome is essentially known from the beginning), and a decent cast to act out the story (especially Frank Langella, whose enigmatic portrayal of the illustrious Arlington Steward, is actually the best thing about the film), but many viewers may still be put off by the films slow pace, overly complicated explanations, and the feeling that it’s been seen many times before.
The picture quality is solid, but the 70’s look is also likely to put a number of people off, and the audio is fairly apt, but the included extras are something of a disappointment, and added together make for a disc that is little better than average, and contains a film that is the same; It’s not a bad watch, but there are plenty of films, and TV series’, that are more mysterious and gripping than The Box. Give it a rent, then go out and by The X-Files, which contains some much more intriguing mysteries.
