The Box

This is an excellent movie that takes chances. The whole cast is great, but the standout is James Russo as Frank. Russo never goes over the top. Frank just wants to live his life quietly. He is forced into violence. Theresa Russell, Michael Rooker, and Steve Railsback also put in very good performances. It is very unpredictable.

The Plot Is: When Frank and Dora (Theresa Russell) find a box full of money, other characters get involved including dirty cops.

Usually James Russo is in Z-grade junk like ("Deep Core", "The House Next Door", "Sonic Impact") It is nice to see him in a good movie for once.

In the end: If you want to see a solid crime drama, see "The Box"

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Lives up to the genre standard. An ex-con tries to go straight but also wants to get back money he's owed for the job that put him in prison. He meets a waitress who's also seen her share of trouble and they start up a tenuous relationship. Then there's a murder and things get complicated. It's noir so the plot isn't the main focus but the mood of the film is consistent and properly downbeat. The characters can't seem to shake the fate that hangs over them. The only thing that which was stood out as a mistake in judgment is the ending which comes too abruptly and seems tacked on from another film.

James Russo is excellent in this film, his face has aged rapidly acquiring a toughness/grittiness to match that cold stare he's always displayed. To my surprise he also wrote the screenplay, and maybe if he acted in more films he scripted he'd be a better known actor.

Theresa Russell, also getting more and more interesting with age gives a good performance as the waitress. There's also some excellent character work from Brad Dourif, Steve Railsback and Michael Rooker as the friend and the heavies, respectively.

I really love this genre and I wholeheartedly recommend it for other fans.

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.

After three years in a penitentiary, the thief Frank Miles (Rene Russo) is released in probation. He is sent to a small town, where he lives in a very low budget hotel downtown and works as a mechanic in a junkyard. His best friend is Stan (Brad Dourif), an ex-small-time drug dealer, who became his friend in the prison. While having his meals in a simple restaurant, Frank meets the waitress Dora Baker (Theresa Russell), a woman with a hidden past, and they feel attracted for each other, starting a romance. Meanwhile, Frank tries to retrieve his US$ 200,000.00, left with a former partner, and Dora is threatened by her former husband, the scum Jake Ragna (Steve Railsback). When Dora finds a mysterious box hidden in her beautiful house, their troubles begin, as if it were the Pandora Box. "The Box" is a surprisingly good low-budget film-noir. Having a great low-paced dark story written by James Russo and very well developed characters, this movie is completely underrated in IMDb. The whole cast has an excellent performance, highlighting James Russo, maybe in his best role, and the good actress Theresa Russell. The pessimist and non-commercial storyline is very real, having no plot point or surprises, becoming darker and darker and without redemption, being a gem to be discovered by adults. Congratulations to James Russo, Richard Pepin, Theresa Russell and the cast and crew for such a good film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Caixa" ("The Box")

A man and a woman, both with a dark past fall in love. They search for happiness, they want to get away and get a better life. People look real, there's great acting on all levels in here. The story is simple but emotional. There's love and desire and big money in a box ...I was left wondering about Life, love, money, hope and despair afterward. A simple story about the fundamentals in life. James Russo as Frank is great, he plays minimalistic, he just looks real, I believe in him. "The Box" is original, it don't smell like Hollywood at all. Very different, very good. Theresa Russel has another great role, she really shines, full of despair and emotions. Well crafted, great atmosphere, a small masterpiece.