''The Box'' DVD- Review

Warner Bros Pictures
UK: November 6th 2009
Rated: 12A

I have to warn you that throughout this review I may contradict myself- occasionally I watched this film and I was enjoying it and couldn't wait to draft up a 3/4 star review on why it was good- and then all of a sudden I would hate the film and was dreading giving the 2/3 star review (it isn't much fun). Even now my brains processing what the hell happened in the 1hr and 40mins- so in advance, forgive me... 


What appears to be a simple morality tale, seemingly turns into something which is confusing and contains characters which you don't much care for. As soon as the film starts we know that something isn't quite right- when a handsome couple played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden find a box on there doorstep in the early hours of the morning. We quickly find out what the whole point of the box is when a hideously disfigured but equally charming man played by Frank Langella appears promptly at 5pm bringing with him a deal- press the button and two things will happen: 


1) someone who you do not know will die and 2) you will receive 1million      dollars. 

It wouldn't be much of a movie if this is all the film was based around so it is hardly a give away when I say they press the button- what the film likes to delve into however is the consequences of those actions in a slightly bizzare and sci-fi kind of way. The film strays all too often for my liking, one minute it is a highly entertaining thriller, then before you know it, it changes to a horror. It will befuddle and frustrate some audiences (me included) but I stuck with it because try as I might I wanted to find out what happened (and this is where I contradict myself) here is a film which was annoying me, yet I wanted to find out what the whole aim was. Why did they receive a box? Who is Frank Langella's Arlington Stewart? What is going on? 


perhaps the befuddlement was a deliberate move on Richard Kelly's part (he directed Donnie Darko) he wanted us to feel just as confused as Diaz and Marsden- or perhaps it was a formula which just didn't quite work. 


I tried to sympathise with the main characters but was finding it hard too, the choice they were given appeared to be quite easily solved yet for the first 30mins they were struggling to come up with a solution- perhaps I'm sick in the head that I would have without a doubt pressed that red button and not looked back, but I'm sure a lot of readers would do too. Now this is where it got interesting.


You push the button- everything is perfect? well, not quite- amazingly I found myself questioning whether I would actually push the button, obviously I can't give too much away but the events that occur after the button being pushed will make most audiences uneasy and unsure- which is a great thing to happen, it keeps the film nicely paced and interesting throughout. The ending was disappointing, although perhaps it was the only way to end it? Although because of the sci-fi elements there was probably more satisfying endings that could have been employed- this one just seemed like a cop-out. 
 
Stewart is a fantastic bad guy (or is he a good guy?) and is hauntingly charming. We hate to love him. The sci-fi aspect to him however was a little hard to swallow and found myself sniggering at the seemingly nonsensical turn it had taken- for the last 30-40 minutes it seemed that Kelly stuffed it full of Sci-fi because he forgot to do it in the first hour. It constantly made me think I was watching a different film to the one I started with. 


The 50s-60s setting seemed pointless (but perhaps I'm missing the point?) however I can imagine if it was set in the present it wouldn't have quite the same effect- it reminded me of a film by Kubrick or Hitchcock. The musical score deserves a mention- echoing 'The Twilight Zone' and countless other classic sci-fi's of the past it adds to the suspense and is a tad eerie. 


VERDICT


Some audiences will fall immediately in love with its clever pacing and refusal to stick to one genre- others become greatly annoyed, and maybe even confused. The question you still ask yourself long after the credits is: Would you push the button? 


3/5