At first blush it may appear that The Box marks Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director Richard Kelly's move towards the mainstream. It does, after all, star Cameron Diaz and James Marsden and Kelly himself has acknowledged in the past that with this, his third film, he needs to show producers that he can make a film that makes money. Check out the synopsis, however, and it's very clear that even this supposedly "mainstream" Kelly is more interesting and challenging than the vast majority ...

Based on the short story by Richard Matheson, "The Box" stars Cameron Diaz as Norma Lewis and James Marsden as Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child who receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, played by Frank Langella, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world, someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the crosshairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.