Colin Farrell appears to be the busiest man in show business, with 8 movies released or in the can since I first saw him in last year’s Hart’s War. In his latest film, Farrell portrays Stuart Shepard, a sleazy public relations man who slings gossip and scalps tickets in exchange for favors for his clients.
Stuart calls a young female client (Katie Holmes) from the same pay phone everyday in order to avoid being caught by his wife. Somehow, Stuart manages to raise the ire of a crazy sniper (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland). After Stu makes his daily phone call, the sniper calls the phone booth and, unable to resist the ringing phone, Stu answers, thus setting off a chain of events. Stu cannot leave the phone booth or he risks being shot by the sniper. The sniper then forces Stu to reveal all of his dirty secrets or face the consequences.
Director Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin) keeps the pacing brisk and suspense high. Wild, sweeping camera movements convey confusion and keep the viewer off-kilter in the same way that Stuart is kept — not knowing where the next shot will come from. Clever use of split-screen and screens-within-screens also let the viewer know who’s talking to whom and who else is listening in. It’s simple, yet effective and manages to make the film a seat-squirmer in the process.
Farrell is, obviously the focal point and, although his character is hard to sympathize with, he does a nice job of making him somewhat interesting. Kiefer Sutherland’s voice becomes a character in itself, menacing and taunting Stuart to the brink of madness. Forest Whitaker, as a police captain, provides ample support and intelligence to his limited role. Katie Holmes and Rahda Mitchell, who some might remember from Pitch Black, are given very little to do except look pretty.
Phone Booth is short — running only about 80 minutes — but it would ruin the film to stretch it any further. It’s a short and sweet suspense thriller that doesn’t dwell on anything for very long, so the numerous plot holes won’t catch your attention until you’re in the theater parking lot.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
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