The Box

There is one thing that works better than a good twist: the absence of a twist when you are expecting one. Why? Because if this happens, it means the movie could surprise you, in the way it didn't choose the path you were thinking about. The Box falls in this category of films.

In its dark, somber and rough style, The Box has elements of the film-noir genre: an ex-convict just released from prison, a small urban town, a femme-fatale and a load of money. And as soon we realize everything is going from bad to worst - following a pessimistic storyline - we know Frank is doomed from the first moment he was released from prison, just because he left unfinished businesses when he was arrested. And for that reason there is no possible redemption, even if we can see, for some moments, glimpses of a new life for the doomed hero.

I like tragedies and doomed characters, and that's one of the reasons I liked The Box. Also, it's nice to see a thriller without a major twist in a time where every thriller marks its points by a closing twist. For this reason, The Box is surely an original piece or, at least, something different from the big-twist-ahead thrillers I've seen in the recent times. For its own good, The Box does not pretend to be smarter than its audience.