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I completely understand how “The Box” is one of the few movies that perfectly falls under the definition of “absurd.” On the other hand, if you are able to create an absurd movie that is not boring then I consider that a success. This one starts off as classic sci-fi grabs hold of radio signals from Mars, nose bleeds, Sartre’s philosophies of free will, amputated toes, NASA, NSA, murders, wind tunnels, black town cars, horrid waiters, and a random person.
His name was Arlington Lewis Steward. He leaves a box on the doorstep of Norma and Arthur Lewis, if they push the button atop the box, one million dollars in hundred dollar bills will be exchanged (“nontaxable”). Unfortunately, a random person will die. What do you think you would do? Norma just learned that her son’s tuition was scheduled to rise, and Arthur was relieved from astronaut traffic. Screw it: so optimistic and sincere, Norma presses the button.
Even if I wanted to, I would not be able to describe to you the events that will be set into motion. The writer and director, Richard Kelly, manages to get from point A to point Z in 52 steps, however, his flow is so effortless it is only after a reader reviews the work that they feel lost on the path. You become engrossed to the point where all the advanced high-tech rocket science is shoved into your face with no relaxation. Then there is the 360-degree camera that Arthur Lewis created for the Mars Lander. I mean, what’s the big deal? You tell me after you watch the movie. At least the nosebleeds are explained.
Richard’s twin brother and Keith’s wife Lisa die in an awful and completely unexplained vehicle accident. Keith suffers from depression after the incident but changes his outlook on life after his son Kevin is born. After Keith and Liz leave the Lander, Keith knows he cannot maintain a relationship with Liz because of their son’s continuous bouts of nosebleeding.
In the Box comes from a collection of short stories entitled Primal Fear written by Richard in 1958 and published a decade later in 1968. It got the inspiration for a more simplistic rendition used in the appendix of Twilight Zone in 1986 but had a much more adult outfield to it along with the almost similarly designed box.
Here it appears that the Milgram Experiment serves as some form of inspiration for him. This is a famous psychological experiment created in the year 1961 by Psychologist Stanley Milgram at Yale University. I am sure you must have heard about it. Prof. Stanley Milgram from Yale University said that the volunteers were undergoing research on how much pain can a human being tolerate, and with the volunteers, he used a shocking device. The volunteers were able to hear the test subjects scream in agony. He told them it was crucial for the test supervisors to keep conducting electrical shocks which the volunteers knew was extremely dangerous. In one experiment, 65% of volunteers were willing to inflict a deadly shock, when instructed to do so.
What would your move be? Let’s say the reward was one million dollars instead of helping Yale with its research. Would your move change? Now imagine the screaming victim was unfamiliar to you. Would your move change? In fact, Norma and Arthur Lewis are in reality, nice people. They try solving the problems around them, but alas it negatively impacts them. Regardless, I stand certain that the movie helps pose thought-provoking questions which in this case ‘Knowing’ was successful in bringing. And so did this particular one.
For a portion of society ‘Knowing’ posed some of the most intricate questions and challenges to the viewers’ mental faculties, and the same will be presented with ‘The Box’. So what? I am not inclined to show you any level of agreement. Each person perceives a movie differently. So for that, I am thankful. I started to wonder if in fact in some circumstances, unreasonable things can be of use.
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