Chances are, if you're a fan of Richard Kelly's other works you're gonna find reason to like his new film, The Box. The cult favorite creator of both Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, two films I would gladly scratch out my corneas than watch again, has made a name for himself with twisty, mind-bending, time hopping tales of giant rabbits and apocalyptic visions. I'll never forget the interview I read with him where he simply couldn't describe his own work. Told me a lot. The Box is his most straight forward narrative yet, and considering it combines space aliens, film noir, government conspiracy, that's really saying something.
The premise starts out very simply. A severely disfigured man named Arlington Steward(the amazing Frank Langella) leaves a box on the front porch of Norma and Arthur Lewis(Cameron Diaz and James Marsden). He returns the next day and makes them an offer. Press the button on the box and two things will happen. First, someone they don't know will die. Second, they will receive $1M for their efforts. Seems easy enough. The Lewis's are good people going through a rough financial patch. He works for NASA and was just recently rejected in his bid to become an astronaut. She is a teacher that just lost her grant. There's a hinting that Steward might've been involved in this sudden turn of events, but nothing concrete. Disbelieving Steward's promises, she impulsively presses the button. The transaction is made, but they soon come to regret it and try to give back the money. Steward ain't havin' none of it. They've made their bed and now must lay in it.
What transpires next can best be described as a Hellish roller coaster ride of oddities. The Lewis's are followed at every turn, as they begin to investigate Steward's origins, which involves NASA, lightening strikes, Mars, and a host of other things that I'm sure Kelly threw in just for kicks. Little of it makes sense. People's noses are bleeding for no apparent reason, there are big boxes of water floating in their house for no apparent reason. There's a particularly funny bit involving "eternal damnation" that I couldn't explain if you held a gun to my head. All I know is to pick transdimensional gateway #2. That much is obvious. Norma Lewis has a disfigured foot. It's significant in Richard Kelly's mind, I'm sure, but I think it was just an excuse to show Cameron Diaz's feet.
Speaking of Ms. Diaz, she seems to be sleepwalking through a lot of this. She's not an exceptional actress by any means, but handing her a wobbly southern drawl and asking her to carry it through an entire movie is a mistake. It's about as believable as my kung fu stance. James "Cyclops" Marsden I bought completely as the husband forced to deal with supernatural obstacles he neither understands or asked to be a part of. One of the things I found most interesting about his character is that there's a touch of anger underneath the surface at what his wife has brought into their lives. Langella is his usual reliable self, even when given little to do. Steward's role is mostly passive, relying on subtle facial gestures to get his real point across.
Kelly's intentions are scattered all over the map. He clearly has great directorial talent, but it's as if he has far too much that he wants to say. The Box would've benefitted from the streamlined approach taken in The Twilight Zone episode that adapted much of The Box's original source material. The opening twenty minutes of the film are a taut, Hitchcockian thriller the likes of which I absolutely adore. Then, as it adds more fringy, sci-fi elements and obscure psychological theories the whole thing slips off the rails. I defy you to explain everything to me.
Still, one thing I can't ever say about Richard Kelly's films is that they are boring. The first few minutes are a bit of a slow boil, but everything from that point on is an entertaining disaster. Donnie Darko fans will be in for a treat. The rest of us can keep on scratching our heads.
