A man makes a call from a public phone booth in New York City to a woman he is considering seeing outside of his existing marriage. Shortly after he hangs up, he receives an anonymous phone call from a man who claims to have him in target range and threatens to take him out if he hangs up or leaves. Who is the caller? How will this situation resolve itself?
That's the premise for Phone Booth, a one-note movie that is more entertaining than it probably deserves to be. This is thanks in large part to its expert, claustrophobic direction. The film denotes a return to form for Joel Schumacher, who'd lost his way with subpar outings in the Batman franchises and making some John Grisham adaptations. The strong focus here hearkens back to works like Tigerland and the splendid Falling Down.
The film stars Colin Farrell, who is certainly becoming an actor to watch for, particularly his work in Hart's War, Minority Report, and the aforementioned Tigerland. Here, he plays Stu Shepard, a callous talent agent who needs a swift quick in the pants, but certainly not to the extent of having his very life threatened. Or perhaps it's exactly what he does need. Phone Booth turns the caller at the end of the phone (Kiefer Sutherland) into a judge and executioner and forces Stu not only to atone for his actions, but to truly comprehend that his consequences have actions. One might argue that Stu's redemption could only be set into motion if the stakes are high enough.
There are a few good supporting turns here, including Forest Whitaker as the perplexed police captain, Radha Mitchell as Stu's wife, and Katie Holmes as "the other woman". They're all characters we've seen before, but Larry Cohen's script at least gives them breathing room to provide the illusion that we're not sure how they will react from scene to scene. Sutherland's chilling voice is perfectly suited the mystery caller and Farrell brings an aspect of pathos to his role.
The real-life sniper situation in Washington last year impacted the release date of Phone Booth; studios felt the pressure to stagger its official debut until 2003. Ultimately, the move may have paid off. The $10 million production, filmed in just ten days, when on to gross over $45 million. With shades of Hitchcock and Spielberg's Duel, it would appear this time around moviegoers know a good thing when they see it.
