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| Phone Booth
Year: 2003
Classification: Mystery / Suspense
Directed:
- Joel Schumacher
Actors/Actresses:
- Colin Farrell
- Kiefer Sutherland
- Forest Whitaker
- Radha Mitchell
- Katie Holmes
Please Hang Up
There's about 15 minutes worth of script here. At best this film could have been stretched into a taught half-hour TV show in the hands of a director like Alfred Hitchcock. However, those days are long gone. This is another example of a potentially good story premise poorly executed. The trailer says it all.
Speed - Only in a Phone Booth
Well the unlikely combo of star-to-be Colin Farrell and shifty director Joel Schumacher gives a great thriller to remember.
The story involves a normal guy, Stuart Shepard who's an acting agent. As the film introduces his character in the first ten to fifteen minutes, it has a heavy emphasis on daily phone usage. After using a payphone in a booth, the phone rings again and Stuart answers to a sniper staring down at him from an unknown location. Proving that this is no prank, the sniper points out every move of Stuart's, thus escalating the tension. He notes that if Stuart hangs up the phone or leaves the booth, he will be shot.<BR> <BR> I'll mention that Phone Booth is no typical ransom issue where the antagonist simply wants to pick on someone for an amount of money or something they need. There's a bigger picture involved and the pull-off is very sufficient.
Phone Booth is one of the more original ideas in Hollywood, as it is such a simple idea but its skillful execution allows the film to be one ... of a ride. One of the key items that gets Phone Booth cooking with steam is that the audience is constantly on the same page as our main character, Stuart. We never leave his situation and when the cinematography leaves his glance, we are still being haunted by the one and only voice of Sutherland behind the telephone as he chats away with Farrell. What's so effective is that most of the movie is done with simply Sutherland's voice on the other end of the line, allowing the viewer to feel as if they themselves are on the phone.
Phone Booth also stars Forest Whitaker, who plays Capt. Ramey, who attempts to talk Stuart out of the booth. Forest adds a warm and friendly touch to the role that lets the audience like him even though we may have seen this act several times before.
Of the things I didn't appreciate, the intro is a little slow and can easily turn off interest here and there. Also, what's somewhat disappointing about the film is that it carries an awesome level of intensity for nearly an hour straight, but then finishes the story in a heartbeat. The climax came about fifteen to twenty minutes prior to my anticipation, but the resolution is what causes the greater impact. For more than three fourths of the movie we are on the telephone with the sniper, and while it may appear to be something that could turn dull in a second to anyone who hasn't seen it, boy is it intense! The actual ending/resolution to Phone Booth is quite creepy, and I'll tell you that the version I saw is no Hollywood ending. <BR> <BR>If you want to go see a fresh new thriller from all the boring ones out (Swimfan), and something like Signs, then go see Phone Booth, it's worth your ... bucks.
Slight but decent thriller.
Joel Schumacher's "Phone Booth," delayed first because star Colin Farrell wasn't famous enough to open the film to substantial box office and then pushed back because the Beltway Sniper attacks made the film too topical to release, was compelling while I was watching it, but it has had no staying power with me whatsoever.
It's not a bad movie. It's very simple, very brief and occasionally thrilling. It goes exactly the way you expect it will, not needing to extend far beyond its simple premise of a morality play. A gunman, judging people at random from the sky, decides to make Farrell's tacky agent character face up to his sins. If he doesn't, he'll be dead ... or the friends who've gathered to watch his incident will be killed. So he stays on the phone and confesses to save everyone.
Of course, the people around him also think that he's a crazed gunman, and he can do little to convince them otherwise. Therein lies the most interesting aspect of the film, one that the filmmakers don't exploit near enough.
I remember an episode of "Homicide: Life of the Streets" that had a similar premise to this one, and I think the "Homicide" episode was slightly better than this movie.
But, compared to the travesties Joel Schumacher has subjected upon movie audiences in the past, "Phone Booth" was merely slight - not offensive.
An interesting misfire.
I recently caught Phone Booth on HBO, and found myself rather riveted to the TV. Despite early warnings from friends, this really isn't a bad film. Considering it's directed by the guy, who destroyed the Batman series.BR>The movie stars Colin Farrell as a slimy New York publicist, who goes to make a call on a New York public phone, and ends up answering a call that changes his life. On the phone is a sadistic sniper who informs Farrell, that if he leaves the booth, he will kill him. To prove he's not kidding around the sniper kills a pimp from the strip club across the street. Farrell is blamed for the murder and must convince the police he's innocent. He is also forced to publicly confess to his wife,he has a mistress. BR>The voice of the sniper is played by Kiefer Sutherland(who actually replaced actor Ron Eldard after the film was finished).Sutherland's voice is very creepy and menacing. BR>My problem with the film, is that it's never revealed why the sniper chooses Farrell. He seems to know everything about him, but in the end, the two finally meet, and Farrell doesn't recognize him. The film also stars the talented Forrest Whitiker as the cop that tries to help Farrell.BR>I recommend this film if you're bored, and tired of watching repeats of Cribs or The Real World. The movie is a short 80 minutes, and should hold the attention of any slack jawed, attention deficit, MTV viewer.
Buy Phone Booth at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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