Of luck and misfortune

MANILA, Philippines - What if someone gave you a box containing a button that, if pushed, would bring you a million dollars...but simultaneously take the life of someone you don’t know? Would you do it? And what would be the consequences?

From the director of the cult classic Donnie Darko comes the suspense thriller The Box which opens today exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4 and Greenbelt 3). The film stars Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella.

The Box is set in 1976. Norma Lewis (Diaz) is a teacher at a private high school and her husband, Arthur (Marsden), is an engineer working at NASA. They are, by all accounts, an average couple living a normal life in the suburbs with their young son...until a mysterious man with a horribly disfigured face appears on their doorstep (Langella) and presents them with a life-altering proposition: The box. With only 24 hours to make their choice, Norma and Arthur face a momentous moral dilemma. They soon discover that the ramifications of this decision are beyond their control and extend far beyond their own fortune and fate.

The Box is based on the classic short story Button, Button by Richard Matheson. It was written for the screen and directed by Richard Kelly, whose 2001 sci-fi mystery thriller Donnie Darko, a cult classic, earned a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the Sundance Film Festival. Donnie Darko went on to screen at film festivals around the world and brought Kelly Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.

“At the heart of The Box is a moral dilemma,” says Kelly. “What would you do if offered the opportunity for great wealth but it came at the cost of a human life, someone you don’t know?”

That is the question posed in the original short story Button, Button, which captured Kelly’s imagination and serves as the basis and inspiration for The Box. “I’ve always admired Matheson for his ability to create stories that both haunt and entertain,” he says. “I was immediately taken with this deceptively simple tale and I wanted to know more. Where does the box come from? What does it mean? Could the people who push that button ever hope to redeem themselves...and how? It had a tantalizing, cliff-hanger of an ending that made me want to jump to the other side to see what happens next.”

Cameron is intrigued by the film’s premise. “It’s a question we all kept asking ourselves. I feel that no one really knows what they would do until they’re faced with that kind of decision. On the surface, it’s easy to say, ‘I know exactly what I’d do.’ But circumstances could be different at any given time, for any person. It’s not as simple as it seems.”

It’s a theme Marsden immediately picked up, saying, “We live in a world where we can achieve almost anything with the press of a button. And I know it’s supposed to be making our lives easier, but something tells me we may be paying a higher price for it in the long run.” Marsden, who stars as young husband and father Arthur Lewis, also sees their intimate story having larger implications. “It’s a story about one couple’s experience but it could have a societal reach.”

Ultimately, Kelly believes, “It’s about responsibility. What would you sacrifice for your loved ones and what responsibility are you willing to take for your actions? What does it mean to be responsible for another human being and what are the parameters — where does it begin and where does it end? I like to think that I wouldn’t push the button but I don’t know. Maybe I already have. Maybe we all have.”