Phone Booth

the one line review:

edgy mindmessing thriller

the overview

Allegedly.

This film got quite a bad rap in the press, I seem to remember. So watching it, I wasn't holding out much hope. I quite enjoyed it.

the plot:

Farrell plays Stu Shepard, a small time publicist, who thinks he's bigger than he is. He spends his life trying to promote small acts, by lying, cheating and stealing his way around the New York media. He has thoughts about cheating on his wife (Mitchell) by phoning some young singer (Holmes).

The evil dude on the phone (Sutherland) finds out about this and forces him to make amends for his crappy life. Shortly after Stu has made a phonecall from a phone booth, he calls him, and starts to provoke him. He happens to be watching from a nearby flat, and has a gun on him. We get some diatribe about why he's doing it, and Stu is forced to go through a series of tasks instructed upon him by the mystery caller. For starters, he's not allowed to hang up the phone, so is forced to deal with a bunch of hookers and their pimp when they get a bit agro about him not leaving the booth. Then when the Police (led by the brilliant Whitaker) show up, he has to tell them what's going on... without actually telling them.

It's then a race against time (such as it is) for the Police to figure out what's going on and get the caller, before the caller kills Stu (or his wife, or his girlfriend, or the Police...).

the verdict:

This worked for me. The scene is set well - you get a feel for Stu trying to be the big man, even though he isn't really. He doesn't actually cheat on his wife; he's simply thought about it (though he has been lying to both women). The premise of this random bloke seeking his victims out and enacting this punishment on them is a little flimsy, but the rest of the film is done quite well.

The whole film has a very Speed feel to it. One man at the mercy of some psycho, caught between being killed by the madman or being killed by the Police. Whitaker (of Panic Room fame, such as fame can be from Panic Room) is brilliant in this. I don't know if it's just his lazy eye sorta look, but I think he's got huge potential. Mitchell (Man on Fire, Pitch Black and Neighbours(!)) has a distinctive face, even if only a small role. I was convinced for some reason she'd been in Hearytbreak High. Alas, no.

It is a cheapskate film, weighing in at only 81 minutes. The whole film is set in a phone booth, though, so I suppose there's a limit to what you can do with that. Was probably cheap to make...

Rent this, or even buy it, it'll keep you entertained the first time you watch it, though repeated viewings maybe not so much.

Phone Booth

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