Language: English
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller
Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Director: Richard Kelly
Music: Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, and Owen Pallett of Canadian band Arcade Fire.
Reasons to watch: Only for Sci-fi maniacs and for people who like the show Deal Or No Deal!
Reasons not to watch: Offers nothing original.
Storyline: Based on a short story ‘Button, Button’ by Richard Matheson, The Box revives all the sci-fi cliches that were left untouched by directors for many years.
Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) with their son Walter Lewis, make a normal suburban family. Until one morning, the door bell rings and Norma finds a box at the doorstep. The same evening Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), the person who delivered the box comes knocking on the Lewis’ residence with an offer. The scene is depicted like an eerie version of Deal or No Deal 
. They press the button, they get $1 million, but someone, somewhere in the world will DIE… someone whom they don’t know. With 24 hours to make a decision, after which the box will be collected and the offer would be made to someone else, Norma and Arthur find themselves in a moral dilemma that leaves them to face the true nature of humanity characterized by desire, greed and selfishness.
Climax Handling: Could have been better. The message is clear — Life is a vicious circle.
Points: The Box runs on the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The latter was a high budget disappointment and the former turns out to be a low budget disaster!
Rating: 6/10
Comments: ‘No Deal’ Mr. Richard Kelly!
