The Box…is actually a movie about a button, and quite frankly, it pushed mine. Though, it did so much more than that – it was deeply moving, and while unappreciated by myself, I left the theater unable to stop thinking about it and how it affected me. The subtleties and metaphors were not only well used, but very effective.
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This story, as maddening and creepy as it is, embodies a fantastic message that you don’t see very often. Not only does it bring us face to face with our own human issues – mortality, greed, conscience – but it helps us see that sometimes the choice to take a life is so simple when we don’t think of the consequences it could have. Not only do we (figuratively) have blood on our hands, some one else has the power to do the same thing to us (push our buttons). Whereas, if we actually thought of others and worked through our own problems – be it money, disabilities, or just having a really bad life – the consequences of that are so much better than trying to get out of everything the easy way.
It also brought up issues in family life – we see this couple who loves their child, but doesn’t seem to really connect or care for him (though, this is only based on what we can see). In the end the choice is to let him live with a disability, or sacrifice someone you love for your child. This is the part that really turned me off, but at the same time, only furthered the message of the movie. The mother was sacrificed because she loved her son and didn’t want him to live with a disability (but he could live without her better????? seriously.) at the same time, someone else, somewhere, pushed the button. Taking her life, and condemning their own just to escape a fixable problem they didn’t want to deal with.
While the movie really did annoy me – mostly because it actually was somehow able to rip emotion out of me – it was incredibly well done and had a fantastic message. The creators really did something right because it stuck with me a week later.
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