Review of Phone Booth (2003) by Tyler W — 29 Jul 2012

I had been told that "Phone Booth" was a movie I just had to see. It had been shoved down my throat so much, I almost didn't want to see it for a while. But when I finally saw a copy for rent, I didn't hesitate to grab it and finally see what I had been missing out on. And I have definitely been missing out.

"Phone Booth" is about Stu Sheppard, a Public Relations agent who is the smoothest in his business. He knows exactly how to pull everyone's strings and how to work his way around everything. But everything comes crashing down on him one day when he picks the wrong phone booth, and now he's being held captive inside the booth by a sniper who want's Stu to be punished. Now, Stu must find a way out of this crazy hostage situation without getting himself or his loved ones killed. It's a simple and also very clever premise, and those are always some of the smarter ones in my opinion.

Collin Farrell headlines as Stu, the suave businessman who knows all the tricks. Within five minutes, we know this character and you're laughing along with how well this guy can play people. He's a master of lies and you love to watch him work his art. The only thing that sucks is that it's confined to the first five minutes of the movie. After that, he becomes a nervous and frantic wreck. Collin Farrell completely knew how to do this character, and this is my favorite performance I've seen him do yet, aside from Bullseye in "Daredevil". But this truly is Collin's film and he carries the entire thing. He really gets to shine, and I find it kind of sad that he hasn't gotten the status I think he deserves until now, with him starring in the remake of "Total Recall".

Kiefer Sutherland plays the anonymous sniper holding Stu captive. He talks to Stu through the phone the whole movie, and he has such a smooth and villainous voice. He's one of those classy, intelligent villians that have thought of every scenario and are completely in charge. Those are the villains that I find really intimidating and intriguing. Another great thing about the sniper is you don't know his motivation for doing this. It gives him a good level of mystery that really makes you think during the film.

Katie Holmes and Forest Whitaker are also in this movie. Katie Holmes plays Kim, a client of Stu's, who Stu wants to sleep with. Her character could've been played by anyone else, because she only gets about three minutes of screen time, but I guess the studio figured they needed more big names in the movie. And that's also where Forest Whitaker comes in. He plays a police captain. Nothing special here at all. Shallow, uninteresting, and I really don't care about him at all. There's also a younger Richard T. Jones in the movie as a cop. I will never forget him as Agent Ellison from "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". Just a funny little side note.

"Phone Booth" is a great thriller. While some audiences may think that the whole thing being confined to one space is a negative, in my opinion, it's the most wonderful thing about the film and really helps the film have it's unique place in cinema history. The film is well paced and well-acted, with a sinister villain and a great lead. It's not even an hour and a half, but I don't think the writer could have put anything more into the film than there is without making it feel like there's too much going on. The film is a great time and I will definitely be buying it.