Review of Phone Booth (2003) by Mereie D — 08 Aug 2010
Intriguing thriller about the fears and hecticity of modern life, filmed in real time (we see every second of the action taking place, without intermissions or lapses). This (relatively short) movie has many strong qualities besides the obvious ones.
Everyone can imagine what it must be like to pick up a ringing phone or do anything else one could see as self-evident, finding oneself confronted with oneâ??s worst nightmare, in this case an anonymous psycho who threatens lethal action.
The film gets really interesting because of the interaction between Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) and his caller on the one hand and the outside world on the other. The miscommunications between Stu, confined to the boundaries of the phone booth, and the different bystanders (hookers, pimp, people who want to make a call, policemen, loved ones) while the caller keeps threatening Stu is nerve-wracking.
Quite adequately, the script leaves room for social justification: those who donâ??t deserve it (like the overaggressive pimp) are not spared, while the totally innocent stay alive. The treatment of the partially guilty becomes clear at the (surprising) ending.
The atmosphere of frenzied panic is underlined by the use of sub screens showing what happens on other locations connected to the main action. And what great contrast between the stressed-out voices of most characters and the agonizingly calm utterances of the psycho on the other end of the line.
This review of Phone Booth (2003) was written by Mereie D on 08 Aug 2010.
Phone Booth has generally received positive reviews.
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