Phone Booth Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)April 21st, 2003
Phone Booth
Rental & Snacks
In an interview on the Daily Show, and I don't really know if he was kidding, Phone Booth star Colin Farrell said that early on, big blammo Michael Bay was attached to direct this thriller in a phone booth. Farrell claimed that Bay loved the script but wanted to know how soon they could get the guy out of the booth. This is a mistake many Hollywood directors make with good ideas. Thankfully, director Joel Schumacher understood the importance of penning Farrell into the battered New York booth. Schumacher (Batman Forever, Car Wash, Lost boys) is far from my favorite director (as my readers well know), but it's good to know that he can retain the integrity of a decent script. And it is a very decent script. It's a new idea, and it plays with the notions of personal responsibility and personal connection in a society increasingly desensitized to these things.
The idea, if you don't recall after the film's release was delayed thanks to those two guys in D.C., is that a sniper somewhere above the streets of New York has trapped Farrell in a phone booth, saying he'll shoot if Farrell leaves or tells or displeases him. It's a scary idea (and of course is tinged with a little lesson in conscience and retribution), and most of the film, I was pretty gripped by the whole deal. I don't know if it's because I saw it alone, or if the intrinsic tension of small space (see also submarine movies) was weighing in heavily, but I rather enjoyed myself. I was led neatly down a path of fear and second-guessing and generally believed everything that was happening. I enjoyed the claustrophobic camera work and Farrell's sweaty attempts to save himself.
Getting over his scattered accent before he actually makes his fatal phone call, as well as tolerating Katie Holmes' creepy baby voice, I had no serious issue with the film. Really! Colin was convincing in his sleaze and in his terror to make me come around to caring about him; and it's a long row to hoe, the way he starts out. It's not high art and I don't imagine I would see it again, but I got exactly what I wanted out of it, which is as much as a person can ask these days from a big studio production.
Last but not least, I must say some complimentary things about Kiefer Sutherland. His is the voice of the sniper, and even completely disembodied, his tones are alternately sinister, sarcastic, wimpy, and terrifying, and his dulcet tones draw a tighter cage around Farrell than the scripted confines of their words. He sounds like he's having fun, too, which makes his performance all the more effective. Kudos on that casting choice.
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These reviews (c) 2003 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
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