Film Review : The Box

Director Richard Kelly made quite an impression with his debut Donnie Darko which was an extremely satisfying if mystifying movie. Much of the expectation created by that effort was dissipated by his follow-up, Southland Tales, which contained just as much mystery but without the satisfaction.

Someone in Hollywood still loves him though, as he's been let loose on a new film. Based on an old short story from The Twilight Hour, The Box stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who have to decide if they should open the box and receive a million pounds (which, as it happens, is nicely timed as both have just received news that very day that would make such a windfall extremely useful). The downside being that in accepting the money will result in the death of someone who they don't know dying.

Frank Langella plays the mysterious visitor who makes the offer and his presence throughout the movie is marvellously unsettling. This is assisted greatly by a disfigurement to his face which has much of his lower jaw missing.

Needless to say, The Box is duly opened and the story concentrates on the guilt taken on by the couple, along with an ongoing reveal of precisely who Langella is and his motives in making the offer.

Although not as successful a movie as Donnie Darko, this will go much of the way to repairing Kelly's tarnished reputation.