The Box

I remember when this film first came out; I didn’t know anything about it, but one of my friends’ raved at how good it might be. He said we definitely had to watch it together and then have a discussion afterwards. It wasn’t the actors we were thrilled at seeing but certainly from the preview; it was the story that had us amped up!

And indeed ‘The Box’ had a magnificent premise; however it was disappointing to see what Director Richard Kelly did with the story. Based on the novel ‘Button Button’ by Richard Matheson and released on 2009; this sci-fi, mystery, drama seemed more mystery and suspense than anything else!

Wide-smiled Cameron Diaz and ‘Superman’ James Marsden I assumed did their best at portraying these dull, indecisive and maladroit characters. Really a wonderful beginning and idea, however the film fell flat on its face! There were too many loose ends and too many instances that left the audience in enormous stupor and bewilderment. Scores of things did not add up; had the writer or director spent more time in research and script development in pre-production, a much healthier, clearer and complete story could have been.

Frank Lagella though who played Arlington Steward did a brilliant job at being the calm villain and his experience and distinction made for a sensationally awful sight! A great attempt, but because of lack of explanation, ‘running noses’, ‘peace signs’ and ‘poor decisions of damnation’ made it considerably laughable towards the middle to the end of the story.


I believe this stories message was to express that, yes, you can do what you want, but if you aren't mindful; you will have to suffer the consequences...