The Box (Warner Brothers)
Welcome To the Twilight Zone
The Box is a new psychological thriller that stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. It is so convoluted and eerie that it reminded me of a well made episode of The Twilight Zone. Since I am a big fan of that old TV show I thoroughly enjoyed the film.
Arthur and Norma Lewis (Marsden and Diaz) live in Richmond, Virginia. The time is the mid 70s and the clothes and dcor of the homes indicate that fact. Arthur is employed by the government while Norma teaches at a local private school. The couple has a young son named Walter (Sam Oz Stone).
One day a package is left on their doorstep. In it is a box that has a button on top. There is a note that says a Mr. Steward (Frank Langella) will call on them at 5PM the next day. When Mr. Steward does show up he tells Norma that by depressing the button someone she and her husband do not know will die. They will also receive one million dollars tax free.
Norma and Arthur ponder and worry about what they will do. They only have twenty-four hours to act and then the offer is retracted. They question Mr. Steward to make sure they do not know the person who will die.
The movie spreads out from this one event and dabbles in areas that are mythological as well as science fiction. There are also religious inferences in all that goes on. Is Mr. Steward the serpent in the couples Eden, and is Norma the Eve who will bring on their downfall
Diaz is wonderfully vulnerable in this film. She affects a soft southern accent that makes her appear softer and more malleable than ever before. Her character has a deformity in her foot and this also adds to the vulnerability. This is one of Diaz best performances though it will probably be overlooked.
Marsden is also good in his role. He makes Arthur an unwilling victim to the forces surrounding him. Marsdens good looks work against him here and make Arthur appear weaker than he is. Langella on the other hand is able to project evil and kindness at the same time which adds to the confusion of the movie which is what is intended.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
The film is so complex and so complicated that all the answers are never known, at least not by me. Still the solutions that are offered make this a chilling movie from beginning to end. After you have finished viewing the film you will replay it over and over in your mind.
The film is so much like a Twilight Zone episode that at the end you expect to hear Rod Serling say, Norma and Arthur thought the button could solve their problems, but that is never the case when you live in the world known as the twilight zone.
I scored The Box a square 7 out of 10.
