The Box

So, I have mixed feelings about “The Box.” Although the movie was so elaborate to the point of confusion, it was definitely intriguing and had a lot of hidden messages that my friends and I did our best to decipher, but still fell short. But really, I would rather be a little stumped by the elements of a complex film which I can constantly mull over than feel more stupid after stepping out of a moronic film any day.

The film begins with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as Norma and Arthur Lewis. They are an average, happily married couple with above-average occupations and their only son Walter. It seems that their financial world crashes down on them all at the same time when Norma loses her employee discount for her son’s attendance at an elite private school and Arthur gets rejected from the astronaut program. Amidst their disappointment and sudden stress to make ends meet, a box appears on their door step. Inside the box is a wooden box with a button in the center. After being visited by Arlington Steward, played by Frank Langella, the couple is given the opportunity to press the button or not press the button. If one of them pushes the button in the next twenty-four hours, two things will happen: “Someone, somewhere in the world, whom you do not know, will die. Secondly, you will receive one million dollars.” As Norma and Arthur weigh the possibilities of the deal, they come to a decision. I’m not going to tell you, because what fun would that be if you wanted to see this movie? You’ll just have to see where the Lewis’s decision fell – to push, or not to push; that is the question!

I love the stream of thought in this film though. It is always fantastic to see a movie made that comments on our society’s humanity, or the lack thereof. The question of whether this couple should choose to supposedly take another’s life – even though they do not know him or her – just so that they can financially prosper is a really prevalent question in today’s society. Essentially, the message here is that we have come to a point where our individual needs and greed cloud our judgment so much so that it trumps the immoral guilt of potentially taking a human life. Therefore humanity is depleting at the hands of humans.

It seems that there were a lot of things which the audience either needed prior knowledge of or needed further explanation in the film. For example, Cameron Diaz plays a high school teacher conducting a class discussion about Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential play, “No Exit.” Having no prior knowledge of this play, I tried to catch every detail because, being an English major, I am programmed to see the significance of symbolism and foreshadowing as it correlates to the larger plot line. Well, after failing to grasp the significance of the drama in relation to the bigger picture, I had to look it up when I got home. So, for all of you that are planning to see this film, I am doing you a great favor in explaining some of the key elements that were integral to the story. The play itself is called “No Exit”; at least twice in the film, the words “No Exit” appear in odd places prior to and after the decision of pushing the button has been made. The other thing you need to know is the main idea in Sartre’s play. He conveys that “Hell is other people.” Knowing this, it is obvious that this is a theme throughout the film. The presence of people who are destructive or prone to making your life worse could either cause you to live in a hell on earth or some other hell that is unfathomable. This reference will be more clear once you see the film.

Another interesting thing that I just have to touch on was the overt recurrent “Adam and Even syndrome.” It seems like the woman always gets the brunt of the fall; it is always her who takes the apple from the silver-tongued snake. It is always Adam who sides his Eve after she has chosen the pathway of sin because they are an inseparable unit – or Adam just doesn’t want to be alone. Ultimately, the sin is always committed by the woman. Now, in actuality, there are a lot of choices made in this film that supersede the obvious, “Did they push the button?” so I don’t think I have ruined the movie for you – not entirely anyway.

I would definitely say that “The Box” is worth a try. There is so much to this film that you will probably walk out of the theatre completely confused. After mulling it over for multiple hours, I think I have come to a lot of conclusions about hidden meanings, reasons as to why certain aspects were integrated, what their significance was, etc. I wish I could share those findings with you, but I feel that that would just ruin the movie before you had a chance to see it yourself! I would have to say that I liked it. If nothing else, James Marsden is in the film. Enough said; go watch it!