the trailer go nowhere near and only scratch the surface of the film and rightly so too and not because it have that obligation to keep it real narrative under wrap and but because what actually transpire and will provoke entirely different line of question and some of which be frustratingly not answer in the film and leave you to your own device to interpret the series of event . which of course mean plenty of material for an after show discussion . metaphorically and the box refers to how u human tend to subconsciously hole ourselves into situation or thing in everyday life and and how our enclosed thought tend to see thing from a certain perspective and seldom out of the box . there a speech make near the end by one of the character that will leave you ponder over this fact and which govern the basis of the entire film and and even thread on existentialism and where our body be mere vessel for the soul and and from cradle to the grave we put ourselves in more box in a way of life fashion . what i dislike about the film and be how it try to sound intelligent through the frequent name dropping of covert government agency like the cia and nsa and a though there something overtly clandestine about these agency that we should be aware of . they serve little purpose other than to put every action and every person under scrutiny and that nobody can be trust and wreck havoc in a sense to both the character and the audience a we try to keep up with trust issue to aid in the interpretation of the narrative . have it set in 1976 and against a nasa backdrop of manned space mission and and in langley and virginia and also provide that heighten sense of wary that will sap your energy a you sit through it patiently . base upon the short story button and button write by richard matheson and make into an episode of the twilight zone and the story follow the lewis family and where husband arthur ( james marsden ) work at nasa and develop a prosthetic foot for his teacher wife norma ( cameron diaz ) and and you would think it all happy family with their son walter ( sam oz stone ) and until one day a mysterious man call arlington steward ( frank langella in a two face inspire facial effect ) whom we be preempt of in the opening and come knock and give them a deal or no deal button in a box . plunge the button and they will get a million buck ( be talk in dollar term of the 70 here ) although a stranger out there will die . if they do not and well the deal get an expiry date . the story would dictate a deal be make and which of course spark off a mysterious sequence of event that unfold and with even more shady character ( who nosebleed ) appearing and some whom be inexplicably zombie like and apparently all under the influence and or employment and or arlington steward . whether or not steward be death and a clandestine government employee and a messenger from god or a representative of alien after an anal probe and remain unanswered and so whichever way you look at it and it a if he deliver something expect and just beg that mankind will shake off it innate greed so that his work can be cut short and to return to wherever he come from . if you need a little distraction from the disparate scene which make up the narrative and the production set and art direction be gorgeous in recreate the 70 look and a you try to figure out the mystery of the consequence that stem from a result of not fully understand the fine print . it full circle this examination of human nature and of our greed for immediate gratification and manifest it result in long term pain and confusion and further choice that we will make base on real sacrifice . nifty special effect come into play as well and though it just leave more room open a to the genre of the film . so be it horror and science fiction and or a mystery thriller . it everything roll into one actually and together with a sprinkling of the philosophical . just do not go expect a straight narrative film with clean and easy answer at the end this be like an x file episode on steroid .