Review of The Box (2009) by Jebus C — 05 Apr 2011
Its almost a pity that Richard Kelly is SO ambitious as a filmmaker. Not every single film has to redefine what cinema is, which is where Kelly seems to be going. With The Box he just goes too far. He takes a simplistic moral choice film and clouds the waters so deeply it makes the film hard to watch.
It doesn't help that the script feels like a clunky, directionless first draft; rushed into filming. It needed judicious editing to streamline a smart concept. Instead its jumbled with too much exposition and too many superfluous scenes and characters.
I got a kick out of Southland Tales because of how weird it was combined with the humour (and a great performance by the Rock) but The Box is too much. Its too much time wasted for too little return, creatively.
Which is a pity because Richard Kelly is a great ideas man. I think he needs to collaborate with someone else on the scripts...stat.
This review of The Box (2009) was written by Jebus C on 05 Apr 2011.
The Box has generally received mixed reviews.
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