Joel Schumacher’s Phone Booth delivers topnotch acting, and, despite poor plot delivery, presents screenwriter Larry Cohen’s text superbly.
The movie’s mediocre plot revolves around Stuart "Stu" Shepard (Colin Farrell) in a phone booth, and the ongoing conversation he has with an anonymous sniper (Kiefer Sutherland) who is targeting him. From the start, "Stu" is portrayed as a small-time publicist with a flair for Italian clothing, a foul mouth, and the unfortunate habit of cheating on his beautiful wife, Kelly (Radha Mitchell). To correct his "sinful" ways, the morally bound sniper holds him hostage in a phone booth until he repents.
The plot is riddled with holes, from the sniper’s motives to the breakthroughs by the police. The coincidental, or should we say accidental, revelations that lead to the sniper’s discovery leave much to the imagination of the viewer, and are far-fetched. Above all else, the fact that the sniper is "caught" in 80 minutes hardly seems credible, considering the weeks it took to catch John Lee Malvo and John Allen Muhammad. The movie was basically another Law and Order episode withou Ice-T.
Though few special effects are employed, the red dot signifying the sniper’s aim is amateurish at best. Also, the intro used a "falling to earth" scene that looked like it came straight out of Enemy of the State.
The cinematography was above par, given Schumacher was restricted to a phone booth and its immediate surroundings. Credit is due when a director can make you sit and watch a phone booth for more than an hour. The variation of extreme close ups of a bloodsoaked Stu and the long shots, used to show his frantic search for the sniper, are excellently filmed and edited.
The cast is led by Farrell and Kiefer Sutherland, who play their parts expertly, and essentially carry the film to any box office success it might have. Sutherland’s ability to convey his role to the audience, by means only of his voice, is a true testament to this silver screen and TV veteran. His deep echoing voice is commanding, yet subtle, entrancing the audience and adding a sense of mystery and suspense.
Farrell acts his part equally well by crying, whining, screaming, whimpering, bartering, wheeling, dealing, and, above all else, sweating to perfection. His delivery is believable and so moving that it first repulses the audience, but then endears. His performance is by far superior to that in The Recruit and matches that of Minority Report.
Mitchell and Katie Holmes, playing Kelly Shepard and Pamela McFadden, respectively, fill the roles of ignorant damsels in distress with no backbones, weakly accepting their shared lover’s situation and emoting at the proper moments. To add to the collection of whiny women, the loud-mouthed, overbearing, and overly-solicitous hookers (Paula Jai Parker, Arain Waring Ash, and Tia Texada) add nothing to the plot but an earache. Their urgent need to use the phone booth is highly suspect, adding another coincidence to the already questionable plot.
Phone Booth is perfect for those who wish to see Colin Farrell cry; a black man besides Morgan Freeman solve a crime; and why Katie Holmes got a half a million dollars for an entire five minutes of screen time. But in the end, you should see how long you can stand a guy screaming in a phone booth.