That is when the enthralling if not totally preposterous events begin to unfold in The Box. A likable couple with a young son are approached by a creepy looking man with a device that contains a button that button that when pushed rewards the pusher one million dollars (tax-free). The price: the death of a person whom you do not know. It could be an innocent new born infant or a murderer on death row. Arthur (James Marsden) and Norma (Cameron Diaz) Lewis certainly could use the million but are they willing to have “blood on their hands” after the button is pressed? I think the movie would have been rather dull if they sat around discussing the moral conundrum and if they had simply refused it would have been a twenty minute show.
I’m sure I have read a short story or two in which this scenario is played out but this movie puts a whole new spin on the consequences. What is purpose behind the box? Who exactly is the mysterious man named Arlington Steward (played deliciously by the creepy Frank Langella)? That’s as far as I go. I do think the reason I liked it is the fact that it was so Twilight Zone-ish and was not for one moment boring.
This was a reunion of sorts for Langella and Marsden. Langella played Perry While and Marsden played Richard White in Superman Returns.
Oooh – I did not read your post once I confirmed that it was about this movie that I haven’t yet seen. Looks like we won’t be getting to the movies this week, so I’ll have to remember to check back on this post when I finally see it!
I want to see Christmas Carol sometime, too (HAHA!)
So- who would push the button? Smells like a possible online poll (not for me, since I have no plans to write about this movie).
Ok, saw the movie. You did a surprisingly good job of not dropping any spoilers! Though the Twilight Zone comment would have revealed more than I wanted to know about this movie – but you’re right, it was very Twilight Zoneish.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Notice how they didn’t show anything beyond the basic push button scenario. No allusion to the entire supernatural element, which I’m not sure I liked or even understood. I left the movie feeling like I had a part of my brain taken out. Entertaining, but I’m STILL confused. And not at all what I was expecting, which was a good thriller. In this case, not getting what I was expecting was a bad thing. Not a waste of time, but still a disappointment. Frank Langella was good.