Blu-ray Review: The Box

Release Date: February 23rd, 2010
Running Time: 116 minutes

The Film

Richard Kelly is anything but conventional. The director rose to fame when his film Donnie Darko became a certifiable cult classic. After five long years his follow up, Southland Tales, completely bombed and nearly ended his career. Kelly’s latest effort, The Box, is based on the Richard Matheson short story “Button, Button.” Though an interesting concept backed by believable characters, The Box quickly turns into more abstract, Kelly-esque territory that will split viewers between worship and hatred for the strange film.

The film is set in Virginia in 1976 and follows the struggling lives of Norma and Arthur Lewis. Norma (Cameron Diaz) is a schoolteacher whose foot was mangled in an X-ray accident. Arthur works at NASA and dreams of being an astronaut but failed the psychological exam. The couple, supporting a young son, is really starting to feel the financial pressure. Then one morning a mysterious package is delivered. Inside is an unassuming box with a red button that looks like an emergency button out of a cartoon. A note explains that someone will be visiting the Lewis’ to explain.

The next day a man arrives that himself Arlington Steward (Frank Langella). His face is brutally disfigured, and he presents himself with a chilling sense of calm elegance. He proceeds to explain the purpose of the box: if the Lewis’ push the button they will receive one million dollars, but someone they do not know will die. Steward leaves, giving the couple 24 hours to make their decision. After struggling with the morality of the issue, the Lewis’ ultimately press the button, setting off a series of events far beyond what they (or the audience) could possibly comprehend.

Without a doubt the best aspect of The Box is Norma and Arthur’s relationship. Based on Kelly’s own parents (as discussed in the special features), these are believable, well-drawn characters that are immediately relatable. You feel for this couple and understand their everyday problems. Diaz and Marsden turn in understated but impressive performances that bring these characters to life. Without two strong characters at the core, The Box would have failed from minute one. Likewise, Langella gives a performance that oozes dread and puppet mastery under the guise of manners and kindness. In my mind, that is one of the most evil kinds of villains.

The set up for the film is fantastic. The concept is simple but morally deep. The problem (in some people’s minds) is that Kelly is in no way a conventional filmmaker. Certain aspects of the film are superb, such as the complete realization of the time period, or his artistic camera techniques. However, Kelly won’t spell out the plot for you and certainly won’t answer all of your questions. This is a wacky story, even by Kelly’s standards. Unsettling imagery and creepy, understated moments all point to something being off, leading to a mind-boggling third act. I don’t want to spoil it, but the simplicity of the concept is blown open into something far crazier that will likely turn off a lot of people. Thus The Box is an ambitious, haunting, and at times ludicrous piece of filmmaking, but it remains a noteworthy experience nonetheless.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.40:1, 1080p High Definition transfer that is faithful to Kelly’s vision but not exactly the most eye-catching image. While I didn’t find it to be a very colorful film, the deep black levels do show off good shadow delineation. Fine detail is stylistically softer than many Blu-rays due to the style, but that wouldn’t be an issue if the softness wasn’t so erratic. Still, the level of detail is acceptable, and often notable at times, such as in the set design. What the detail doesn’t help, however, are the visual effects as more attention is drawn to the CGI. Having said all of that, the image is very clean with no print problems, compression artifacts, or video noise.

The audio is offered in an English DTS HD master lossless audio track and English/French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. Like the video, the audio is a somewhat mixed affair. It is a timid track at times but opens up with action moments that have palpable weight to them. The sound design is impressive as the whole soundstage is used well to portray atmosphere and bring scenes to life. Panning effects are often spliced in, and the rear channel usage is good albeit a bit sporadic. My only real gripe is the dialogue. It often sounds muddled or drowned out, especially when the score is emphasized.

The Extras

Commentary is offered with Director Richard Kelly. The track has very few pauses and covers a wide range of production and development topics, giving a complete account of how the film came to life. Yet despite the excellent source of information, I found Kelly’s delivery to be somewhat lacking in terms of passion, making the track duller than it should be.

“The Box: Grounded in Reality” (11 minutes) is my favorite special feature on the set. The featurette is twofold: it covers Kelly’s love of the original material and the adaptation process, but even more interesting is a discussion about how the couple in the film is based on Kelly’s own parents, complete with interviews. Norma and Arthur’s relationship is the most believable, emotional part of the film, and its no surprise considering how much it parallels the story of Kelly’s parents.

“Visual Effects Revealed” contains three effects breakdowns: Arlington’s Face, Water Coffins, and Transforming Richmond. The short segments contain commentary from Visual Effects Editor Dylan Highsmith. While the effects are solid, if you’ve watched any other similar featurettes on other discs you are likely to be familiar with the process.

“Richard Matheson: In His Own Words” (5 minutes) is an all-too brief interview with the science fiction legend. He discusses his body of work and experiences through the years, though doesn’t offer any thoughts on the film.

The “Music Video Prequels” are more like short films set to the score. Called Exhibit A, B, and C, the shorts flesh out things seen in the film or provide background information on the characters and events.

Lastly, a Digital Copy is offered on a disc that also houses the SD version of the film.

Final Thoughts

The Box is a polarizing film that Kelly fans will eat up, but other people will likely find themselves frustrated and perplexed. The Blu-ray is neither notable nor horrible, making it a good rental choice for those curious enough to give the strange film a chance.