Phone Booth (2003)
Joel Schumacher's "Phone Booth" begins
by immediately letting you know you're in for a typical
Hollywood movie. The opening narration is about as
schlocky and cheesy and ham-handed as one can expect.
The film may be very intense, very visually gimmicky
and very well acted, but that doesn't stop it from
being typical Hollywood pap.
In short order we are introduced
to Colin Farrell as Stu, a fast-talking bullshit artist
who works in public relations for celebrities. Stu
dresses snazzy, has an intern who follows him everywhere
and keeps at least two cell phones going at the same
time.
The trailers pretty much spell out
the plot of "Phone Booth" and the film wastes no time
getting to the meat of the story, so I have no trouble
giving some stuff away that most people already know.
Stu gets a phone call at a phone booth he uses every
day from someone threatening him, his wife and his
mistress. This is a sniper who has a rifle pegged
on Stu who threatens to shoot him if he hangs up.
Now, there's a point in the story where Stu should
walk away, where any normal person would walk away.
And you have to jump that hurdle in the suspension
of disbelief to accept the rest of the film. Schumacher
works so quickly here and is so flashy in his presentation
that it is pretty easy to become involved in the film
without getting caught up in things like reality.
Eventually the cops come and eventually
they figure out it's a sniper talking to Stu. They
try to trace the call but the phone wires have been
fucked with and it is impossible to trace. Too bad
they don't listen in because it's obvious to us who
can hear the conversation that it's Keifer Sutherland
on the line and he is obviously calling from Skywalker
Ranch because the sound quality of his audio is fucking
processed and pristine. In reality, Stu's first question
would be, "Who the fuck is your carrier because I've
never heard a phone line so clear before."
Schumacher keeps things tense and
taunt and moving briskly. He, in essence, is often
editing two films at one because there is so many
pictures within the frame of the picture it becomes
like a cool puzzle being worked out. Whenever Stu
is on the phone with his wife or his girlfriend, we
see them in a box in the screen and Schumacher likes
to play with this visual to keep the film airy and
agile. The continuity here is awesome (as the film
was shot on location in Times Square in 10 days) and
the effects are nice except for the red dot of the
sniper's laser targeting device. It looks as phony
as hell.
The acting here is pretty good,
with the exception of Sutherland who does his standard
schtick. Farrell does a really good job in the lead
and has a climactic confessional moment that is actually
tear inducing. Forest Whitaker is good as the cop
who talks too much and even provides a tad of comic
relief though his character's backstory. Paula Jai
Parker is also a standout as the loudmouthed hooker.
There's an attempt to moralize here
and even discuss the media and our culture's fascination
with crime but that's pretty hack and typical. It's
Farrell's acting and Schumacher's pacing that really
keeps us tuned in here
"Phone Booth" doesn't have a good
ending, in fact it falls apart in the last ten minutes.
But the ride up until that point is pretty decent.
A good popcorn movie but don't expect anything that
will stick with you for more than 20 minutes or so.
Notes:
Script by Larry Cohen, who broke
into the A-list with this one after writing over 50
produced scripts many of which he directed himself.
Ron Eldard played the sniper in
the original shoot but was replaced by Sutherland
in reshoots.
Many A-list actors considered this
script including Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise and Will Smith.
At one time Michael Bay considered directing it.
Originally scheduled to be released
in late 2002, the film was put on hold when a real
sniper shot several people on the East Coast. The
film debuted in the Toronto Film Festival in September
2002.
Not to be confused with the 1998
Brandon Wee film of the same title.
Viewed in Austin in March at 2003
SXSW Film Festival
