‘The Box’ Review: Another Pseudo-Deep, Confused & Silly Richard Kelly Picture Though Not A Disaster Either

If Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko,” was an auspicious little start — though grossly overrated in nerd circles, as are most half-decent sci-fi or genre films — and “Southland Tales,” is a hilarious trainwreck, then his third feature-length film, the suspense thriller, “The Box,” is an obtuse, silly misfire, but at least not the spectacular disaster of his previous effort.

Though it is laughable that he believes this film is a commercial effort, kudos regardless to Warner Bros. for taking a risk on this largely inaccessible film — though clearly many think quite the opposite — in a year of risky propositions (“Watchmen,” “Where The Wild Things Are”). Though maybe they should have put their money on a better gamble.

Set in 1976 suburban Virginia — surprisingly there is a purpose for setting the film in this time period, no one would buy this hokey story if it took place in modern day — the story chronicles husband and wife duo Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, basically modeled after Kelly’s parents), their everyday lives and their economic woes ; don’t worry it’s not particularly culturally relevant or prescient, its just a semi-contrived fateful plot device to help the narrative move forward.

Diaz’s cougar mom’s teaching job is about to end because of budget cuts and Marsden’s dreams to be an astronaut (and gain a major pay raise) are about to be crushed (though his managerial NASA gig is still in place). They’re financially “stretched to the limits” as she says, foreshadowing the conundrum that’s about to present itself.

And then, just as this misfortune has hit the couple, the goofy premise does just that: present itself as a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) that comes out of nowhere and drops off a box at their doorstep at 5am. It’s a box with a button, but it’s locked with a key.

The next day as Marsden is at work — he’s part of NASA’s Mars initiative to land a robotic research unit on the planet — the disfigured stranger — who’s missing half the side of his face ala Harvey Dent — offers up his ominous proposition: push the button, you get $1 million dollars. But oh yeah, there’s a fineprint rub, and someone you don’t know… will die.

Yes, it’s kind of ridiculous. After back and forth debate with her incredulous and skeptical scientist husband — the rational scientist tries to take apart the box revealing nothing — the couple fails the moral test put in front of them and the button is pushed, though more out of, “fuck it,” then greed or malice. But it’s tooooo late.

Suddenly a local murder takes place where a man shoots his wife in the chest. Langella’s stranger drops off the money and a chain of irrevocable events are kicked off when Marsden makes cardinal mistake numero uno and contacts his father-in-law police detective to investigate what the hell is going on (Rule number 1 about The Box: you do not talk about the Box). But he’s also not telling the story, and playing detective boy on his own trying to unravel the pieces of what’s about to become a muddled story.

From there things get strange and as per usual Kelly’s modus operandi, convoluted, confused and pseudo-deep. The work of Jean Paul Sarte is referenced in Diaz’s classroom, for example, and again, near the end of the picture, but the reading of his work and placement within seems forced and facile.

A confounding (and not entirely interesting) mystery unfolds regarding the strange button man, his motivations and intentions, but either Kelly won’t fully say what’s going on, or he can’t fully articulate it himself, because the second half is a largely eye-rolling mess of ideas crammed together once more in hopes of somehow trying to pass off the bemusing abstraction as profundity.

There’s a conspiracy at work (much of it is rather familiar and delivered as though going through the motions): a super powered man from NASA who was struck by lightning that died, then resurrected; zombie-like “employees” who bleed from their nose; a wormhole (with exact “Donnie Darko”-like leftover effects), and a looping tragedy that is doomed to repeat itself. Why? After a certain point of guffawing and head-shaking with mild disappointment, you sort of give up bothering to figure out what this thick-headed story is actually trying to say or accomplish.

One could call Kelly pretentious, but that would suggest the filmmaker possesses an artistry that he does not. To call the film inscrutable is to suggest there’s something complex here at work (even using the word “abstraction” is far too generous a term). Even worse, there’s always a very stilted tonally-off air to Kelly’s work that often begats unintentional laughter, and “The Box,” is similar in that respect. It’s as if he’s making sci-fi films with lifeless porn actors that don’t know how to deliver lines.

There’s also wtf?? gaping plot holes we’re supposed to forgive? Cameron Diaz’s character is kidnapped, but after Marsden spends five minutes in the watery CGI wormhole, she’s inexplicably safely at home. Perhaps logic is not of the most importance here.

Climaxing in an emotional scene between the couple in a do-or-die situation, Kelly has said the sequence was saved for last production sched-wise and was brutal for the actors to perform, but sadly the scene, full of meant-to-be gut-wrenching tears and declarations of love is curiously emotionally unaffecting and flat — the actors and director not possessing the abilities to make the sequence resound on any level, yet everyone clearly doing their best and believing they are stretching their talents (no one’s terrible here per se, it’s just that no one is particularly remarkable either).

“The Box” does unravel more than usual in its nonsensical last act and its anticlimactic, that’s-it? moral lesson conclusion, but it must be said that up until the midway point — perfectly captured in this scene, funnily enough — the picture is largely competent, makes structural sense and is at least mildly compelling (though yes, is still a bit preposterous and frivolous).

Kelly’s out-there, jumbled ideas and his inability to make things clear or simple is what makes the director his own worst enemy. This is a creative guy bursting with so much to say, but he’s essentially spent his entire career trying to run, before having learned how to walk. He’s clearly talented and is so young he hopefully has years to learn, but the man can’t afford too many more bombs and “The Box” is nowhere near the accessible commercial hit he thinks it is (sorry, but we’re betting this thing tanks).

A “Twilight Zone”-like short story stretched way past the point of its goofy, dated and unbelievable premise, and an antiquated nod to Hitchcock (via the Kelly odd filter), “The Box” might have worked 30 years ago, but as it stands today, it’s mostly a curiously confused movie that’s only marginally thrilling, suspenseful and engaging.

The Arcade Fire score that many are wondering about is… ok, but rather conventional and a few times unintentionally funny with it’s oooh, scary cliches. Also, we felt rather embarrassed for them when we imagined them inventing the score to this picture. If the thought, “What did we get ourselves into?” didn’t cross their minds at least once — even if they didn’t share the idea aloud with one another — there’s probably something deeply wrong with them on a human level.

There’s bizarre enigma in cinema that can create inspired awe with ambiguity and then there’s bizarre that’s pretty banal and believes it’s much more profound and thoughtful than it actually is. Guess where “The Box” fits? Though still, compared to “Southland Tales,” it’s at least a small step in the right direction towards clarity. [C]