Phone Booth (2003) review

25. Phone Booth (2003)

Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Produced by: Gil Netter, David Zucker

Screenplay by: Larry Cohen

Starring: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, Radha Mitchell, Kiefer Sutherland

“Phone Booth,” a thriller about a man trapped in a Manhattan phone booth by a hidden sniper, had one of the longest development hells of any movie I've seen. It was initially pitched by screenwriter Larry Cohen to Alfred Hitchcock during the 1960s, but a full script never came to fruition; three decades later, it finally went through some of the biggest names in Hollywood, from Will Smith to Tom Cruise to Steven Spielberg, eventually settling on recent critical flop Joel Schumacher directing and relative newcomer Colin Farrell starring. Then it was delayed from its 2002 release following a series of sniper attacks before finally being released the following spring. Thankfully, the long wait wasn’t in vain; despite the craft being a little over-stylized, this is a taut, energetic ride.

Farrell plays Stu, a fast-talking small-time publicist who’s having an affair with actress Pam (Katie Holmes) behind his wife Kelly’s (Radha Mitchell) back. After making a call to Pam from a booth in Times Square, he answers another call from a man (Kiefer Sutherland) who seems to know a lot about him and his affair, warning him to stay in the booth. Stu is initially annoyed and responds aggressively, but things get serious when the caller reveals that he has a sniper rifle pointed at him, threatening to kill him unless he comes clean about his many dishonesties. Circumstances result in the caller shooting a pimp named Leon (John Enos III) dead while attacking Stu for hogging the booth, which brings police, media and spectators to the area, believing Stu responsible; unable to leave, Stu can only negotiate with the caller as a means to escape the dire situation.

In my opinion, this premise very easily could have become stale if they didn’t get an authentically menacing voice for the caller; thankfully, Kiefer Sutherland really brings a sinister yet also somewhat jovial tone that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It kind of reminds me of Leslie Nielsen in “Creepshow,” just the way he can be such a casual conversationalist and then deliver such cold-blooded threats; his laughing gets over-the-top at times, but when he’s more quiet and downplayed, it gets pretty bone-chilling. Sutherland had just achieved newfound popularity with the release of the Fox drama series “24,” and this was his fourth collaboration with Schumacher. Aside from him, Farrell is convincing as an unscrupulous blowhard, almost an Ebenezer Scrooge type who fell into an immoral rut as a way of living and is now being given an extreme method of changing his ways. Meanwhile, Forest Whitaker has great presence as NYPD Captain Ramey, who tries to figure out what’s happening without ever seeming clueless.

So even though there are a lot of events and interactions that branch off from this one phone call, the majority of the film is just spent on Stu and the caller talking; regrettably, there is only so long you can stretch a premise like this, and the dialogue does get a little repetitive after a while, and this is still a pretty short run time. I also have to question the use of the pizza delivery man (Dell Yount) that the caller sends to the booth at the start of the movie; it just feels like a really forced setup. But the performances themselves are still compelling enough that you believe just how frantic it gets, and there is a keen sense of anxiety and claustrophobia that sets in. Some of the interactions are actually very funny; I especially love when Ramey first orders Stu out of the booth, and he answers, “I’m busy; come back later,” or the way Stu falls back into publicist mode, trying to bullshit the caller with bargains and offers, when all he really wants is sincerity.

Something worth mentioning is that the action happens in real time, so there’s a heavy use of split-screen, much like in “24,” which really helps put you into the situation. However, other aspects of the production design are pretty damn awkward, particularly the opening and ending where we get this transition through phone wires and satellites in space; maybe this looked neat when it first came out, but now it is so dated that it’s kind of laughable. And despite how short it is, the movie still has time to pad it with these random shots of people break dancing on the street, or really strange uses of slow motion and frame-cutting; yeah, you kind of have to sit through some crap before the momentum really picks up, but when it does, you’re all set.

I feel like people tend to sleep on this movie just because it’s so minimalist, and to be fair, some of the action really makes you suspend your disbelief; but this is still probably one of the more underrated thrillers of the last 20 years. Its themes are relevant, the suspense is palpable, and it features maybe the best acting of Farrell’s career when Stu breaks down in front of the crowd during the climax; apparently, this was done on the first take and received an ovation from the crew. Cohen’s next film was “Cellular,” a more action-oriented story about a man stuck on his cell phone with a woman held captive by kidnappers, although his script was largely rewritten by first-time screenwriter and future “Fast & Furious” mainstay Chris Morgan. That’s a fun movie in its own right, but “Phone Booth” has a little extra zest in its themes and interactions, if a tad excessive in certain areas.

My rating: 8/10