The Box Review

The Box is a 2021 feature film written and directed by Sasha Sibley. The review screener of this film was sent courtesy of Midnight Releasing.

An interesting slow burn psychological drama, The Box brings some slow burning tension to the struggles of a young actor swallowed by the Hollywood system, in a thought-provoking package.

The story of the film follows Tyler Stevens, who is a struggling actor in Hollywood, and this feature is his tale through and through. It is a piece that really hinges on the performance of Graham Jenkins in the lead role and he brings a lot to the table here.

While foregoing a strictly conventional story, the layers of Tyler’s character are very methodically peeled back throughout the runtime. This works better in some instances than others. While yes knowing the roots of his acting ambitions, or finding out about his failed relationship are interesting character developments it almost feels implied even before we see them on screen. The story of the isolated person fueled by the drive for a successful career carries with it certain beats we’ve come to expect, and by not trying to subvert these expectations the film falters a bit.

Where things shine is with Colin Morgan as the director and narrator of the film. His meta commentary keeps things lively and as a personal aside his voice hits that perfect attenuation that just feels for lack of a better word nice. These scenes break up the darker emotions and provide a light-hearted reprieve from all the deep character development.

From a technical standpoint everything coalesced here well. The cinematography, editing, sound, and score all work. Nothing feels too rushed or bombastic for what we see on screen, which makes the viewing experience a pleasant one.

The moments inside the titular box serve the psychological metaphors of the film nicely but at times do take a bit longer to get through than what felt natural. They are our visual look into the feeling of being trapped, isolated by your own ambition, but that reference comes very quickly and with nothing to really upend what we see until the final act it can make moments seem a touch tedious.

This is still an interesting film to sit down to and is worth your time especially if you are a fan of psychological based movies. The Box may prove a touch too slow for some, especially in the contained scenes of the first and second act, but there is something interesting in all the layers here.

The Box was sent courtesy of Midnight Releasing.

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