Four Boxes (2009)

An Exercise In Nonsense

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The opening credits scream "major indie film." Trevor and Rob sell privacy fences. As a hobby they buy estates and sell the junk on E-Bay. They recently moved into a home owned by Bill Zill who had passed away. The man didn't leave much behind, but left stuff that was coded and cryptic. Rob invites his fiancee to come stay with them, an irritating girl named Amber/Brit who was once engaged to Trevor (guess how that works out). Amber talks like people type on the Internet, with phrases like, BFD and BRB. Likewise her and Trevor like to have conversations with their mouth full of food, another bit of annoying indie realism.It turns out Bill Zill had a love for a web site called "4 Boxes." The 4 boxes are 4 rooms in a house which has cameras. A girl used to run the site, but then left. The house was taken over by a guy who wears a gas mask and is apparently a terrorist making bombs to send to the US. Trevor is trying to figure out who they are, where they are, and if it is real.The movie ends with a twist, then another twist, and then one stupid ending. I think they should have let the movie go with just the first twist instead of attempting to get cute. Sex, brief nudity, f-bomb. If you really really love low budget indies, then try this one out.

I really like the way this movie was made and the story is well written and executed. I won't give away any of the plot, which has some interesting twists and turns. However, the way this story is put together is exactly what indie films are about in my opinion. The movie has a slow start, with a definitive tone, and most of the action is in the last third of the movie, but the setting and character development in the first 40 minutes is the essential part of the film. Rather than being thrust right into the plot, the audience experiences it unfold with the characters. What I dislike about so many indie thrillers is the action tends to unfold in predictable ways along very similar time lines, and while the character development is supposed to be shaped through the action in the film, many times there is not enough care taken in exploring the characters and their relationships. This leaves plots where things seem to just happen to a group of people we don't care about. This film is the opposite, and you find yourself trying to figure out the mystery right alongside the characters.

This movie's plot twists pretty much require a second viewing to fully understand what went on - every half hour or so you realize what you thought you were watching wasn't what it seemed, and you have to rewrite your initial impressions as you go. Kind of brilliant. The script was smart, snarky, funny, the plot was thoroughly engrossing, and the precise art direction (for all its greyness) made even the brief little details visually and emotionally compelling - the kind of details most low-budget independents can't muster. True, not everything gets explained in the end, but do you really want it to be? Personally, I like a little "What the hell was that?!" from my movies, and this movie delivers. I wouldn't exactly label it a "thriller," as its pacing and interests seem to extend beyond that, but it is definitely suspenseful. An undercurrent of social commentary tugs at Four Boxes throughout - the characters seem adrift in the banalities of suburbia, and their search for success and a pathway out is both believable and a little sickening. Overall, kinda icky, kinda great.

This film has been touted by some as this year's "Paranormal Activity", or even as "Rear Window on the Internet". It has potential, but just doesn't deliver. When it started I felt as if we might be in 21st-century "Videodrome" territory, but my hopes were quickly dashed. There are numerous plot holes, and the ending feels unsatisfying. The characters are very annoying in their speech and mannerisms and it is difficult to feel any sympathy for them. The younger of the two guys reminds me very much of the douche in "Paranormal Activity", and the girl reminds me of every artsy chick I've ever met in the sense that she feels that the universe owes her something even when she lacks talent. Notice the one scene where she strums the strings one after the other without playing any chords, and the cutaway to the older guy's face as his heartstrings are obviously being strummed in unison... And- all the misspellings in the opening credits don't help either. Don't waste your time.