THE BOX (PG-13)
Starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, and
Released by Warner Brothers

The Box is based on a short story by Richard Matheson (it was the source material for an intriguing 80's Twilight Zone episode called Button, Button), and now, the short has been expanded into a feature by cult hero Richard Kelly, an unusual film maker who earned quite a legion of fans with his debut film Donnie Darko. He followed that picture up with the much maligned Southland Tales (a film I must confess I have yet to see).

At the surface, The Box appears as if it'll be an entirely accessible movie, but then Kelly quickly changes gears after baiting the audience in with a simple and compelling set up. The Box opens in 1976 suburbia, and weaves its tale around a mysterious stranger (played by Frank Langella) who offers a financially struggling married couple (played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) a most unique opportunity. With a box in hand, Langella's horribly scarred Arlington Steward informs the couple that should they push the button at the center of the box, they'll receive $1 million cash. The catch? If they do decide to press the button, someone who they don't know, will die. What follows is a bizarre sequence of events that I'm still trying to wrap my head around.

Through an odd fusion of religious and scientific themes, The Box emerges as a weird, dreamlike, and sometimes maddening morality play, but somehow, I was strangely intrigued by it. Kelly does a good job evoking a creepy sense of dread all while creating a slow build towards a wacked out climax that still has me perplexed but fascinated. Parts of The Box reminded me of a David Lynch movie, while visually, the film has a distinct Stanley Kubrick look to it. I'm not saying this movie is in the same league as Lynch or Kubrick's work, but it's certainly in a similar tradition. And technically, The Box is wonderfully put together. Particularly the 70's inspired art direction and Arcade Fire's ominous score.

The Box isn't exactly a masterpiece. There are moments that are overly dramatic and Diaz and Marsden aren't always on target but ultimately, this strange little film is thought provoking enough and worthy of a recommendation. Particularly to movie goers who...aren't afraid to think outside the box.