Phone Booth (2003)

Too much of everything

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Captivating movie !

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Stu is an obnoxious New York publicist who lies to the people he deals with and calls a woman, who isn't his wife, from a phone booth so his wife won't find out. One day as he is talking to his other woman a man approaches the booth with a pizza that he says somebody has ordered for Stu... he is rudely sent away. Moments after he hangs up the phone rings and he answers... an unidentified man is on the line. He starts giving instructions to Stu and lets it be known that he has the area in the sights of a high powered rifle. Soon afterwards a man who tries to force Stu to leave to booth and is shot; those around claim Stu shot him and soon the booth is surrounded by heavily armed police demanding that Stu hand over his weapon... which obviously he doesn't have. The voice on the phone continues to goad him, trying to force him to do things that will both ruin his relationships and probably get him killed. Outside the booth police Captain Ed Ramey tries to negotiate with Stu and both women in his life arrive at the scene.At only an hour and twenty minutes in length this film is definitely shorter than most; I didn't feel short-changed though as for most of the film it was incredibly tense despite the fact that it was basically just a man talking on a telephone. There is some early action when a pimp tries to force Stu out of the box before being shot by the sniper but after that it is just a question of whether he will shoot somebody else or whether the police will shoot Stu. Colin Farrell is brilliant as Stu; for almost all of the film he is on screen; the centre of attention. Forest Whitaker is impressive as Captain Ramey and Keifer Sutherland is menacing as the sniper even though we only glimpse him at the end of the film... often poor performances are described as phoned-in but this phoned-in performance is great! Director Joel Schumacher does a fine job keeping things really taut as the story plays out in real time. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody wanting a good tense thriller but don't want to spend ages doing it.

I could see myself watching this again, although that's mostly for Forest Whitaker's alternately balletic and swaggering performance (the best big-screen fat man since Jackie Gleason's 'Minnesota Fats?), and the dialogue that Kiefer Sutherland gets to speak, and his demonic cackle.The phone booth of the title is located in mid-town Manhattan, and it's special for being the booth that fast-talking, lying, cheating publicist (Colin Farrell) uses for making motel dates with his girlfriend, because he knows his wife checks his cell-phone bills. Kiefer's an embittered crack-shot tech-wiz ex-Vietnam vet. psycho who's set himself up as some kind of moral arbiter (versatile, isn't he?); he's privy to Farrell's work and play mis-steps, and decides he's fair game for atonement (His previous targets - ultimately, victims - were proper criminals, which would cause one to question his basis of target-selection, given small-time Farrell's inclusion on his list. But at least he claims that he's prepared to set Farrell free, if the degree of his atonement warrants it.)Given that the movie is set almost entirely in and around the phone- booth it's something of a high-wire act to maintain a viewer's interest. That's partly overcome by Kiefer's frequently hilarious demands, and the almost staggering incompetence of the small army of cops that descend on the scene, 'Dog Day Afternoon'-style. But once Forest Whitaker arrives, you know you'll not want to take your eyes off the screen for a split second.Colin Farrell's is a somewhat thankless task, given the character he portrays, and the confined space he has to operate in - in contrast to the wide open spaces available to Whitaker - but I think he pretty much wrings every last inch out of his dialogue, and his reactions to Kiefer's demands. Which frequently cut me up; credit to him for keeping a straight face, throughout. And, given that he's playing a liar and a cheat, there's always the possibility that those tears, and those cries of anguish, are fake.But despite Farrell's tour-de-force performance, Forrest Whitaker bestrides this film like a colossus, in more ways than one.Of course, once you see Larry Cohen's screenplay credit you know it's going to be chock-full of implausibilities, and no little black humour, and it didn't disappoint. But the much-maligned Mr. Schumacher must bear substantial credit for pulling all the strings together, without you seeing the joins. Watch, and enjoy - without prejudice.

Directed by Joel SchumacherStarring Colin Farell, Kiefer Sutherland and Forrest WhitakerOverall: This is one of my favourite thrillers of all time and it is just an incredible movie which doesn't get the amount of attention it deserves.Good: 1. Colin Farell does a great job as Stu Shephard as does Forrest Whitaker as Captain Ramey.2. The true star of this movie, however, is Kiefer Sutherland as the mysterious caller who, even with very limited screen time, gave a chilling performance and was truly admirable to do so much with just one's voice.3. The actual story itself was fantastic and I loved every single second of it.4. The idea is simple: One man in a phonebooth being harassed by a sniper. So simple yet so genius and incredible simultaneously. It proves that a movie doesn't need to be 'Inception' levels of complex, to be great.5. Perfect ending which couldn't have been done any better.6. I like the cinematography. It's simple and focuses on the phonebooth. It doesn't overachieve which is perfect for the movie.7. The sheer isolation of the movie is very claustrophobic and is such a perfect choice which places you in the shoes of the lead character.8. I love how 'Who the villain is' is open to interpretation. Personally, I see the Sniper's targets to be the villains and him the good guy. Think about it, he kills a Paedophile, corrupt business man, pimp and then threatens a man cheating on his wife. The caller's not a saint and is still technically a criminal but he is closer to the good guy than Stu is.Bad:1. His wife and mistress felt more like plot points than characters and their acting was pretty poor also. 2. His protégé kind of just showed up and left whenever he was needed. This could have been tweaked.9/10

Meet Stu, a publicist. He is full of himself, full of lies and good at talking. When he picks up a call at a phone booth, he ends up with a sniper laser on pointing on his chest. The man at the other end of the line clearly means business though we don't yet know what he wants. Most of the entire movie takes place around the phone booth. Yet, there is hardly a dull moment. The movie does exceedingly well at maintaining the tension throughout. It takes you to the edge of your seat - and holds you there. Kiefer Sutherland is the perfect choice for the man at the other end of the line. The role requires a powerful impact only with the voice, and Sutherland couldn't have done better. Colin Farrell does his part well, and we are convinced by the transition from insolence to helplessness and eventually desperation. Joel Schumacher has really risen well past his Batman movies and gives us a truly breathtaking thriller.