Warner Bros. | 2009 | 115 mins | Rated PG-13
Based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson, and previously adapted into an episode of the 1980s incarnation of The Twilight Zone, The Box feels too long as a 119 minute film. Since the original story on which it is based is less than 10 pages long, it’s easy to see how the scenario could pack an effective wallop as a thirty-minute television episode. In stretching the story to feature length, writer/director Richard Kelly (Southland Tales, Donnie Darko), has added a second and third act to the story that doesn’t really bring anything new and interesting to the story.
The Box is a film about moral boundaries—or more simply, it forces you to ask, what am I willing to do for money? The premise is this: a man supplies young couples with a gift, asking only one thing in return. They are given a box; press the button encased in the box and somebody, somewhere, will die, yet you will be given a briefcase containing one million dollars and the box will move on to a new owner. You will never know who died at your hand, so you’ll have no reason to care. However, you’ll be a million dollars richer and free of financial burdens.
In this case, he couple is Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, respectively). Norma’s a school teacher and Arthur works for NASA developing technology for the Viking mission. Due to various setbacks, the couple is financially strapped. After receiving a mysterious box on their doorstep with a red button inside, Norma receives a visit from Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), a personable, well-spoken fellow with little more than half of his face intact. Steward gives her the low-down: push the button within twenty-four hours and someone in the world whom neither Norma nor Arthur knows will die. In return, they will be provided a briefcase filled with one million dollars in cash, tax free. They cannot tell anyone else about this, and if they do not push the button, it will be collected and dropped off at another couple’s home.
Obviously, there would be no film if the Lewis’ didn’t push the button. These are good people, but the lure of economic freedom proves too strong a pull to resist. Predictably though, their choice opens a Pandora ’s Box of trouble. They begin to fear for their own safety and are haunted by strange occurrences and casual acquaintances that seem to be in cahoots with the people Arlington works for. Soon enough, Norma and Arthur find themselves living a nightmare. As the old saying goes, ‘be careful what you wish for.”
While the first act is strong (that’s the section largely taken from Richard Matheson’s short story), mid-way through the second act the story loses focus. Richard Kelly’s psychological thriller with a mix of science fiction becomes a hodgepodge of convoluted tangents that don’t really add up to anything. The ending becomes blatantly obvious with more than a half-hour to go, and by the time some ridiculous NASA experiments are added into the mix, the whole thing has drifted into the realm of the ridiculous.
Kelly shot the movie digitally, and no amount of Blu-ray high definition can make the original picture look any better. That being said, colors are fairly well controlled, and patterns hold up well without any pixelation or digital artifacts. The level of detail in the picture is above average. Warners transfer the movie’s original 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio to disc using a VC-1 codec.
Warners use lossless DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio to reproduce the soundtrack. We get a wide stereo spread, a few strong transient impacts, and on occasion some pleasant ambient bloom in the rear channels. Nothing patricianly special.
The Blu-ray includes English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
The Box doesn’t offer much in the way of special features:
• Audio Commentary: Writer/director/producer Richard Kelly delivers a thorough (albeit dry) commentary, detailing nearly every aspect of the production, his creative decisions, screenplay, casting choices, set and prop design, and more. He rarely pauses, and never seems to run out of topics to cover, but he doesn’t sound very excited about the film.
• The Box: Grounded in Reality (HD, 11 minutes): Kelly discusses his decades old love affair with Richard Matheson’s “Button, Button,” alludes to several conversations with the author, and describes his approach to expanding a 7-page short story into a feature length film. He also touches on the historical events and inspirations behind his adaptation.
• Richard Matheson – In His Own Words (HD, 5 minutes): Matheson talks about his career, writing for television, his fans, developing his most beloved stories and, of course, the genesis of “Button, Button.”
• Visual Effects Revealed (HD, 4 minutes): VFX editor Dylan Highsmith hosts this all-too-brief trio of featurettes that examine the creation of Arlington’s scarred face, the water coffins, and 1970s Richmond.
• Music Video Prequels (HD, 9 minutes): Three dull short films of sorts that tie into the film.
• A Standard DVD
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