"Phone Booth," currently playing in local movie theaters, is 81 minutes of tension that takes place in a New York City phone booth. The booth in question is an old but busy one with 300 calls daily, but soon the last call will be made there, as it is due to be torn down tomorrow. Enter Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell), a slimy New York City publicist who thinks only of himself. With him is an unpaid intern whom he is trying to impress with his on-the-job lying, cheating and scheming. At home is a lovely wife, Kelly (Radha Mitchell), but that's not enough for Shepard. He's been cheating on her with Pamela (Katie Holmes), who doesn't know that he is married. At the end of every day, he goes to the same phone booth to call his girlfriend. Why does he do that when he owns a cell phone? He simply doesn't want his wife to see those calls on the phone bill and ask questions.
Almost the entire movie takes place in the phone booth. There are pictures in pictures that show other people, but what we mostly see is Shepard in a very agitated state with blood dripping from one ear lobe. You see, as he enters the booth and, as usual, removes his wedding ring, the phone rings. How can you ignore a ringing phone, even if it's probably not for you? The caller tells him that if he hangs up, he will be killed. He is ordered to do certain things or someone will suffer. A pizza deliveryman tries to deliver a pizza, but Shepard is rude to him and pays him to leave. Slowly Shepard realizes that the caller (Kiefer Sutherland) knows too much about him. At first, he thinks the caller is a down-on-his-luck actor bent on revenge. Somehow, the caller knows all about Shepard's affair and he is ruthlessly extracting confessions from Shepard, threatening that someone will be killed if he doesn't comply. Two very funny hookers want to use the phone, but Shepard turns them frantically away. When a friend comes to their aid, the sniper shoots him. Enter the police. At first they listen to the hookers, who claim Shepard committed the murder. A large crowd gathers. The whole affair is televised. Both wife and girlfriend appear on the scene. Just who is the caller? What does he want and why does he want it?
The acting is good, especially Colin Farrell, with a New York accent that's not too bad. We hear Kiefer Sutherland throughout as the caller, and he's excellent, but don't see him until the end. Forest Whitaker as Capt. Ramey, the policeman in charge, is wonderful. Credit director Joel Schumacher and cinematographer Matthew Libatique with some very good camera work. However, the whole premise of "Phone Booth" is hard to swallow at times. It's not so much its predictability as its repetitiveness. When the tension never lets up, it loses some of its impact.
There's also an abundance of rough language. Four-letter words abound and there's enough violence to spare. The caller shoots Shepard early on, just nicking him, but he subsequently continues to bleed throughout the movie.
"Phone Booth" delivers thrills and chills, but its other intentions are not that clear. Why single out a publicist to repent and confess his crimes? Granted he's not a sterling character, but others have done much worse. Those wanting an exciting ride on a roller coaster will appreciate "Phone Booth." Others looking for a comprehensible storyline may want to stay home.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | April 15 2003 |