"The Box"-- Zach's Take

I think The Box perfectly reveals Richard Kelly (and subsequently Donnie Darko) for what he (and it) really is: a shallow, pretentious, David Lynch wannabe.

He produces deliberately mysterious and nonsensical pieces of cinematic refuse for people who can't be bothered to actually search out real intriguing or thought-provoking films. Like M. Night Shyamalan, he has his devoted following of people who insist that his work is profound , or that "you just don't get it." No, no, I get it. It just sucks. It's cheap, easy, film school-esque attempts at artiness.

However, I don't want this to become a review of over-hyped filmmakers and their fanbase. The film at hand is The Box, an overwrought, self-indulgent mess. The dialog is horrible. The only real entertainment I got out of this film is from laughing hysterically at the exchanges between Cameron Diaz and James Marsden.

The central problem with the film is that things just happen to the characters. They take virtually no initiative themselves. Bizarre things occur for no reason, they say something stupid, and then the next scene comes. There's no real forward momentum to the plot, which is a huge problem with a film that is entirely plot-based. There's no character work done here, no growth, no change. The characters in the film are exactly the same at the beginning as they are at the end. This makes the whole thing feel stagnant, and makes the disappointment of the "mystery" all the more painful. You've been sitting through this thing for two hours, waiting for the payoff of all the silly and preposterous stuff you've seen on screen, with nothing else to care about other than the answers to the questions that the film poses. Which, when they are answered, tell you nothing more than what you most likely already presumed.

Just about the only positive thing I can say about this film is that effect for Frank Langella's facial disfigurement is pretty cool and convincing. Unfortunately, that same effect is done much better for Two-Face in The Dark Knight.

I'd really like to see Richard Kelly make a good film. Now, I know Donnie Darko has its fans, but be honest, when was the last time you sat down to re-watch that film? It's a one-off piece of mild entertainment. Once you see it, do you really feel compelled to revisit it? That certainly is the case with The Box. Lock this thing up, throw away the key, and send it off to Mars from whence it came.