Phone Booth
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Written by: Larry Cohen
Starring: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes

Joel Schumacher’s Phone Booth is based on a mediocre concept, vaguely familiar from movies like Speed, but uses a smart script and interesting execution to create an above average movie. You may have heard about the movie a while back, as its release was delayed due to the sniper shootings in DC. Perhaps they were hoping this would give the movie some additional publicity, although it is debatable whether or not the extra wait built any sort of hype (not to mention, whether or not it was actually worth the wait).

Quick rising Aussie superstar Colin Farrell plays a sleazy PR Rep named Stu Shepard who is cheating on his wife. Well, actually that’s not entirely true, he’s only flirting with other women. Little does he know, there is a self-righteous stalker who has been following him for weeks, watching him live his shallow life of lies and broken promises, disapproving of his flaws. When Farrell uses a pay phone in Manhattan (the only remaining pay phone of its kind in the city, so we’re told) to place his daily call to a young pretty actress (Katie Holmes), the stalker puts a plan into action that will teach this horrible miscreant a lesson. He calls the pay phone just after Stu hangs up, who of course is powerless to resist answering it. He then proceeds to hold Stu at gun point from an unknown location, in attempt to force him to repent for his wrongdoings.

Right off the bat, it seems a little unreasonable that the sniper has targeted Stu as someone who needs punishment. This is not to say that snipers have to be reasonable, but as the movie progresses we see that he’s really thought the whole thing out beforehand, and it seems like an effort that might be better spent on someone more deserving. Stu may not be the most upstanding citizen, but he certainly hasn’t done anything morally worse than the pimp and prostitutes hanging out on the same street, for example. Once Stu has answered the phone, however, and finds himself stuck in this life-threatening, seemingly unescapable situation, we also get pulled in and forget about the “hows” and “whys”… the only question in our mind is, “What will happen next?”

One of the interesting things about Phone Booth is the fact that it all basically takes place in a single location. In some ways this reminds me of David Fincher’s Panic Room, as it is a movie that relies on a good story and some cool visual effects to prevent you from losing interest. For example, Joel Schumacher uses some split screen windows to bring several simultaneous points of view into the picture, and some cool handheld footage to give the gritty street feel. And although the story defies logic at times, it does provide enough twists to keep things moving. The singular location is also useful because it creates a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere, again similar to Panic Room.

Colin Farrell does a reasonable job as the charismatic PR type, and performs well under stress, unfortunately he does stumble a little when the movie requires some real raw emotion out of him. The voice of the sniper was provided by Keifer Sutherland, and although his sarcastic dialogue is one of the most fun parts of the movie, at times it seems a little too overdone… almost like the truck driver from Joy Ride. However, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise considering that writer Larry Cohen was responsible for some classic b-movie cheese including The Stuff and Uncle Sam. Forrest Whittaker also deserves mention for his sympathetic performance as the police officer trying to gingerly coax Stu out of the phone booth, despite being in the dark about the situation.

Phone Booth does seem a little preachy with its ideals, but at least it gives the movie some substance — I much prefer this to some crazed, mindless serial killer plot. Considering that the sniper is just a voice that only Stu can hear, he could actually be interpreted as a representation of Stu’s conscience to some extent.

Overall, the movie is a fun little diversion that has its share of weaknesses, but also its share of cool moments too, whether they be humourous, suspenseful, or just visually impressive. Don’t go see it if you’re only going to try and pick it apart (because you’ll definitely have a field day with it), but if you take it with a grain of salt, it ain’t half bad. In the end I enjoyed the movie for what it was, and yet I don’t think it will deter me from using a phone booth anytime in the near future. — Sean