Studio Cut

James Marsden (“The X-Men” series) and Cameron Diaz (“The Holiday”) star as husband and wife who are faced with a moral dilemma, in Warner Bros.’ new mystery thriller “The Box.”  Directed by Richard Kelly (the cult classic “Donnie Darko”), “The Box” opens exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 & Trinoma) on March 10.

In the film, 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 (Frank Langella) with a horribly disfigured face appears on their doorstep and presents them with a life-altering proposition: the box – which contains a button that, if pushed, would bring the couple a million dollars…but simultaneously take the life of someone they don’t know.

With only 24 hours to make their choice, Norma and Arthur soon discover that the ramifications of this decision are beyond their control and extend far beyond their own fortune and fate.

The Lewis’ love story is an essential ingredient in “The Box,” and is severely tested. “You have to believe in their love and their marriage or everything else is ornamental,” states Marsden. “At the heart of the movie is the relationship between Norma and Arthur, and the roller coaster ride they go through together. Everything that happens to them, however difficult, brings them closer together.”

Speaking from Norma’s perspective, Cameron Diaz explains, “Pushing the button is not a decision she takes lightly but, at the moment it happens, after so much intense thought, it’s like something just comes over her. I think we’ve all been in situations where we know the consequences of an action but hope desperately that somehow it’s not going to happen – that we can ignore it or take it back if we have to, that we can say, ‘No, never mind, I was just kidding.’ It doesn’t necessarily have to be a life-or-death situation. There are so many examples in our daily lives when we take the easy way out if we think we can get away with it. It comes down to the difference between living consciously or not, and that, to me, is even more relevant than the big question about whether or not you would push the button. Look at all the little buttons you are offered every day.

“What I like about this story is that the consequences are immediate and in-your-face, as if to say, ‘You did this and now you must deal with the responsibility,’” Diaz continues. The bottom line, she cautions, is “Nothing is free.”

For Norma’s husband, the box is more of a practical puzzle. “Arthur has a scientific mind,” says Marsden. “He takes a logical, tangible approach, takes the box apart and discovers there’s nothing inside of it. He figures it’s a trick, some kind of elaborate sales pitch, and doesn’t really take it seriously. How would anyone even know if they pushed the button or not? That all changes, though, when the button is pushed, and he sees everything turned upside down in front of him.”