Review: The Box

"Here's the Key to your new formica kitchen dream"

There's something going on about faces in this film - we have one particular man with a face that is missing large chunks, the special fx dude obviously enjoying playing with the image of teeth grinding together through the fibrous gap in his cheek.  There's lots of big dark eyes, staring into the distance or spookily making direct contact with whichever character is being terrorized at that moment, maniacal grins and unexplained nose-bleeds, people talking in mystic rhymes that seem to have little reason, with actors who have obviously been chosen for their 'character' faces: either ugly, weird or very obviously belonging to the mid 70s, with sideburns and suits to fit. 

Now all of that I quite liked - I like being given the chance to work out what I think might happen and I cottoned on pretty early in the film what would happen - the exact machinations of it were a mystery however and I enjoyed following the ride till we got to the point I was expecting, all of it within visually arresting and nostalgic sets.  But returning to the 'face' issue, it was Cameron Diaz's that fascinated me - she's playing a 35 year old which is just a dash younger than the age she really is and although she still seems fairly young there is an edge to her acting that suggests there is something harder and older about her, despite her years.  She doesn't rely purely on her spark, her perkiness and her wide smile as she has done in some of her previous films, such as the Charlie's Angel franchise, she instead has developed some truthful, real emotional honesty and whatever has got her to that point seems to be shown in every line and wide-eyed pained expression.  Yes, there are other actors in it but the film is essentially about Diaz and her character's experience.  It is this that holds ours and the camera's attention with plenty of close-in, full face shots, perfect for the cheek trembling and watery eyes that are required at the high points in the narrative.

There is a lot going on and although this seems to be a character movie, the stylistic twists and visual quirks do detract from their personal perspectives which may be a problem - it is about moral, individual choices but how they impact on the whole in a much larger way - greater than the sum of their parts.  Yet, at the same time, it is shown through the prism of a small family's experience and the choices they make and so at times the larger perspectives feel a little lost, kind of like putting a puzzle together without knowing what the picture you're aiming for is.  I suspect that is really what was aimed for and to get us to just follow along, in the dark, pulling fragments together until we get what the point of it all is.  The storyline of the box and the consequences of the choices made - to push the button or not - becomes basically a premise to hang a zealot's mysticism on to, meaning the family we are following are really bit players in a larger theme.

So the ultimate test: did I enjoy it?  Yes, I did. I can analyse its construction and what was meant by each twist but at the end of it, although I felt a little unsatisfied and wanted more of a resolution, I think it got to the point it was aiming for and I happily followed it through, without my attention wandering.  It felt like an older kind of thriller - sparser, the jumpy moments coming from characters and their expressions or shots that take you by surprise, reminding me a little of The Shining in that way - with drama that relies heavily on setting and the construction of the shots.  I understand my companion's perspective of it being a story that could have been told in just 20 minutes - there were sections that I felt had been drawn out unnecessarily but on the whole I came to the end of it feeling buoyed that we have film makers still making and successfully releasing this kind of work.  Whether you buy into the concept or not, or just enjoy this kind of story, it's a film that shows a high level of personal creativity, artistic vision and direction without obvious interference from budget clutching producers.  And that gives me hope for the future of film making.