The Box

** Stars

The Box is an unnecessarily complex motion picture from director Richard Kelly. The premise is much too simple and exciting for the convoluted mind of the Donnie Darko helmer. It’s the story of a 1970’s suburban couple (played by the miscast of Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who obtain a box from a strange and anonymous man (Frank Langella) who says that if they push the button on it, they’ll receive a payment of $1 million. The catch? Someone in the world they don’t know, will die. Too bad that The Box collapses into incoherency about half way through. I’ll always find Richard Kelly’s first film fascinating, and I’m not ready to give up on him, but with Southland Tales and The Box, Kelly has yet to prove he can tell a story that makes sense.