| ||||||||||
|
[proceeds go toward monthly MRFH upkeep] |
-
Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
-
Summary Capsule
-
Kinda jerky guy enters a phone booth only to be held to his sins by an unseen sniper.
| ||||||||||
|
[proceeds go toward monthly MRFH upkeep] |
| reviews |
|
Phone Booth is the kind of movie you really can't believe got made in the first place. An overblown publicist named Stu Shepard (Farrell) is on his daily ritual of calling a girl he's been thinking of cheating with (Pam, played by Katie Holmes) from the last phone booth in a particular neighbourhood in New York. It turns out he's been followed and observed by an unseen stalker (The Caller, an elusively voiced Kiefer Sutherland), who has picked today to call Stu in the booth and keep him pinned there with a high powered rifle from an overlooking window. After killing a pimp to make it look like Stu did it, the Caller proceeds to drag Stu's morals over the coals as he offers Stu a choice: confess the many sins of his life to his wife, Kelly (Radha Mitchell), or die under either the Caller's or the police's bullet. If Stu leaves the booth, the Caller will shoot him. If Stu stays in the booth against the police's orders, the law grows ever closer to killing him. The only way out is for Stu to confess his adulterous thoughts and the other poor choices he's made in life to his waiting wife and a nation watching the live news coverage.
Colin Farrell delivers. Most of what makes this movie a success is the acting is very well done. Stu runs the gamut of the emotional spectrum, from disbelief and humour to the initial setup by the Caller, to rage and fear at his persecution, to utter despair at what he must confess to survive (all the while speaking in an accent that effectively hides Colin's Irish heritage). Farrell really does deserve attention for this role, it's pretty damn good. At only 27 years of age and with a career that only dates back 7 years, he's already showing signs of real superstar quality. Sutherland also lends considerable weight with just his vocal cords on his side. The voice of the Caller is dark, taunting, and unforgiving, with so much malice you'll question over and over again what could have brought him to this. And Forest Whitaker even takes a pretty good turn as the negotiator who tries to bring Stu out of the booth. Watching the back and forth between Stu and Captain Ramey is pretty good. The movie really does deliver enough tension to keep it all afloat. Stu naturally resists every threat the Caller makes until it's made clear how much power the Caller has over him. But playing by the Caller's game doesn't free him, and so he and the audience are left to guess: is there even a way out? More than once are you left with the sincere belief that this is it, this the moment where the Caller shoots. And he does shoot... Unfortunately, the movie has an end. I say that with two meanings. First, it's a good flick, you'll be sorry to see the end of it (and it's one of those that's probably best the first or second time around). Second, the moment it's over and you're free of the weight of the story, you'll immediately start punching holes in it. There are so many questions that come to light. Primarily, even though Stu asks the question of the Caller, it's never really satisfactorily explained how Stu is an evil enough person to warrant this punishment (which already befallen a crooked CEO and a pedophile). Stu's maybe not the nicest guy, but he's really only guilty of being deceitful. Heck, it's even established right away that he hasn't even slept with the "other woman", just that he was thinking about it. Even moving beyond this fatal flaw in the story, there are a lot of nits to pick. What is the pizza guy's real involvement? Who the heck is the Caller, and what's his true motivation, anyway? It seems to change momentarily! When the tension has drained away, there's an awful lot of explaining that this movie doesn't do. Some of it's justified, some of it makes no sense at all. In a movie with really only two major characters, you better be darn sure of what both their motivating factors are. Still, this is all said with the realization that this movie is actually pretty good. In the moment, you'll be held hostage every bit as much as Stu, and that's the key. Just don't tear it apart too badly after the credits run. If we were waiting for Colin Farrell to give us a sign that he's truly entrenched in the annals (that's ANNALS, Kyle) of Hollywood history, I think it's pretty much here.
Sorry, I went crazy there. But that’s the only crazy thing you’re going to find related to Phone Booth, because it’s all pretty sedate and tedious. For me, there was absolutely no tension whatsoever. I had no fear about what would happen, and I think it’s because we didn’t just stay with Farrell in the booth. Once we were getting those split screens Poolman hated and we became privy to what the cops were thinking and doing, any hope of edge-of-the-seat fun flew out the window. The set-up to Phone Booth was pretty neat, and Sutherland’s voice is alternately one of the coolest and scariest naturally-occurring wonders of the world. But I just didn’t feel that the secret sniper passing judgment on random dudes of various badness was explored as much as it could have been, but I also believe that in the hands of a different director this could have been very nail-biting and taunt. I also believe I deserve credit for not being like the other 1000 movie reviewers out there, and somehow working in a dig at how Schumacher put nipples on the Bat-suit. Sometimes my personal restraint surprises even me. Farrell is very convincing and charming to watch. Sutherland is incredible, no matter what particular singular sense he’s playing to. The chicks are hot, so that’s nice. But for all the potential shenanigans and building that goes into Phone Booth, once the credits roll you will be thinking “I hope that doesn’t happen to me!” but you won’t mean the sniper stuff: you’ll mean having to sit through a disappointing movie like this one again. It’s kind of worth seeing, I guess, but only as a rental and I’m telling you: your own imaginative nightmares about this scenario are going to be much more entertaining and frightening than Phone Booth could ever hope to be. Although if for any reason Kiefer Sutherland calls you on the phone, even if you’re his friend or it’s a wrong number or something, you should immediately start screaming and run away, crying your eyes out. I bet he would really get a kick out of that! |
| extras |
|
Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?
Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]
Was filmed in 12 days in downtown Los Angeles. The part of the sniper was originally shot with Ron Eldard; he was replaced with Kiefer Sutherland in re-shoots. The movie was originally set to be released on 15 November 2002. However, after the sniper attacks in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., 20th Century Fox decided to delay the release of the film. Official and Not-So-Official Websites Groovy Quotes
Big Q: I'm a gangster, I don't have to be reasonable!
Stu: Did you call me Stu? Who's Stu? I don't know any Stu.
The Caller: Don't even think about leaving that booth.
If you liked this movie, try these:
Feedback
|
PoolMan's Rating: So why didn't he just throw a paper clip into the open window?
Kyle's Rating: Not to date myself (no one else will!) but do kids even know what a phone booth is?
