The Box (2009/I)

Director:

Richard Kelly

Writers (WGA):

Richard Kelly (screenplay)
Richard Matheson (short story "Button, Button")

Release Date:

6 November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You Are The Experiment

Plot:

A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who know that opening it will grant them a million dollars and kill someone they don't know.

Plot Keywords:

Box | Button | Young Child | Mysterious Stranger | 24 Hours

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Cameron Diaz	...	Norma Lewis
James Marsden	...	Arthur Lewis
Frank Langella	...	Arlington Steward
James Rebhorn	...	Norm Cahill
Holmes Osborne	...	Dick Burns
Sam Oz Stone	...	Walter Lewis
Gillian Jacobs	...	Dana
Celia Weston	...	Lana Burns
Deborah Rush	...	Clymene Steward
Lisa K. Wyatt	...	Rhonda Martin
Mark S. Cartier	...	Martin Teague (as Mark Cartier)
Kevin Robertson	...	Wendel Matheson
Michele Durrett	...	Rebecca Matheson (as Michele Durett)
Ian Kahn	...	Vick Brenner
John Magaro	...	Charles

Also Known As:

Посылка (Russia) [ru]
La caja (Mexico) [es]
La caja mortal (Argentina) [es]
The Box - Du bist das Experiment (Germany) (DVD title) [de]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44919) | Finland:K-13 | UK:12A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Boston Public Library - 700 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Darko Entertainment

Trivia:

This marks the first PG-13 film to be directed by Richard Kelly.

Goofs:

Continuity: When being followed down through the corridors of the library, they enter a main hallway where it shows his followers coming from two different directions. Yet just a second before all five of them were coming from the same direction as he was.

Quotes:

NSA operative: Sir? If you don't mind my asking... why a box?
Arlington Steward: Your home is a box. Your car is a box on wheels. You drive to work with it. you drive home with it. You sit in your home, staring into a box. It erodes your sole, while the box that is your body inevitably withers... then dies. Where upon it is place in the ultimate box, to slowly decompose.
NSA operative: It's quite depressing, if you think of it that way.
Arlington Steward: Don't think of it that way... think of it as a temporary state of being.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Moviemaking in Virginia: Take 3 (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bell Bottom Blues

Better than expected

This movie is built around a short story. Therefore gaps need to be filled in order to achieve a full movie script, and this was achieved better in some parts than others. Movie belongs more to fantasy genre rather than SF, and few times I would prefer not to have so much "martian" involvement in the plot. But overall the story is well told, enjoyable to watch and philosophical enough to arise questions about our own morality and set of values.

I particularly enjoyed the play of lead actors, being for both a step forward towards "serious" characters, and they both are credible and engaged. I definitely see (and want to see more) Camerion Diaz as a strong artist covering a wider range of characters, and this role is a wise step forward. James Marsden is not my favorite, with his roles created especially for the dandy face, but here was surprisingly enjoyable and dedicated.

Overall the movie is fun to watch, it has a good story, and a consistent "old movie" style directing. It invites you to think after seeing it, and this is a quality somehow lost on many of todays movies.