Diaz, Marsden, Kelly speak about new morality drama, The Box

What if you had a chance to make a million dollars just by the push of a button? There isn't a person in the world that wouldn't take up that offer. Now imagine that if you pushed that button, someone's life would end, but additionally, the money you would gain would rescue you from economic turmoil. The decision suddenly becomes less clear. This is precisely the moral dilemma proposed in Richard Kelly's new movie The Box, opening in theaters today.The story revolves around Norma and Arthur Lewis, played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, a couple that have fallen on hard times in 1976 Virginia. For the most part, they manage to make do with what they have and continue living an ordinary life until one day a box with a button inside appears on their doorstep. Soon after, Arlington Steward (played by Frank Langella) arrives at their house with a proposition - push the button, which will kill someone they do not know, and receive a million dollars. Like everything on this earth, the situation has its complications, resulting in a movie that is both thrilling and thought provoking.

Based on the 1970 short story "Button, Button" by Richard Matheson, Kelly, who is famous for penning and directing the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko, chose to adapt the movie because of the impression the story left on him when he was a child, and because of the questions left unanswered. The way Mr. Kelly sees it, "The short story is a great setup for act one. When I was young and I read the story, it left me with one line that set my mind racing. When [Norma and Arthur] asked who Mr. Steward worked for, he responded 'I assure you that the organization is large and international in scope.' I had so many questions, 'who does he work for, why'd they build this button, why did they give it to these families, what's the agenda at work', such amazing questions, and to be able to explore those answers in act two and act three is exciting."

For Diaz and Marsden, their roles in the thriller were challenging and unlike the characters they usually play. When asked what motivated her to choose the role, Diaz responded, "I was drawn to the existential quandary of the story and I knew that Richard would tell the story the way he does. I wanted to be a part of it." Marsden added, "You wouldn't be responding to the story and material if there wasn't a part of you in there, so there will always be a part of you inherent in your performance." Additionally, he explained that, while The Box is a sci-fi movie, "it was less something I was aware of when we were shooting it, [Instead] I was aware of the human characters that were surrounded by the inhuman."

More than anything, though, the draw was to work on a movie that contained themes pertinent to the past and present. Kelly explained his reasons for placing the movie in the 1970s, "[it was a] necessary decision to set it in the 70s - the concept of someone you don't know doesn't exist in the present.with all the surveillance technology we have today. I realized I'd have to write that scene where Norma Googles Arlington for half the movie." Had it been set in the 2000s, much of the drama in pushing a button would have been lost on an audience so used to hitting enter on a keyboard. Diaz connected the movie's conundrums to those of reality: "In today's society we've proved we're pushing the button by taking out credit cards, mortgages, etc., things we think we won't have to take responsibility for but eventually take effect. The economy now is like a button that was pushed over the past couple of years."

The Box may not be as violent and riveting as Donnie Darko, but what it lacks in fascinating drama it achieves in accessible, relatable situations. After seeing the movie, it will quickly become difficult to make a decision without wondering what consequence that decision will have on the world, and whether or not that consequence could have been avoided by simply not pushing a button.