I bought my first cell phone in 2006; later than most, but given this, it’s no surprise that in Joel Schumacher’s “Phone Booth” (2002) cell phones are popular but not yet ubiquitous. It was made in a time where pay phones still stood and were used. I can’t remember the last time I saw a working one in the small town I live in; perhaps in NYC, where this film takes place, many still remain.
What’s interesting about “Phone Booth,” starring but a handful of people, is it’s borne of a different time. A man, Stu (Colin Farrell) stops by a payphone to call his mistress, and is quickly pinned down by a sniper/killer, voiced by Keifer Sutherland. Stu is a small-time PR guy who lies daily to make ends meet; the killer is a man who has done this before, and taunts Stu by telling him he’s doing ‘better than the others.’ Seeing as this movie is, as Roger Ebert aptly describes, a ‘morality play,’ that ‘better’ can be seen as Stu being more honest.
But the film doesn’t remove him from reproach. The killer organizes situations that force Stu to live up to his lies, which are believable due to Farrell’s acting, and he even shoots and kills a pimp who harasses Stu to show he means business. It’s an effectively scary scene due to how commonplace and nondescript Schumacher films it.
This movie is billed as a thriller, and earns it with tense scenes of Stu sweating it out in the booth, haggling with the killer on the line while a parade of cops show up, intent to believe it was Stu that killed the pimp (which would be debunked by evidence the movie explains away in varying degrees of incredulity).
As the movie progresses, we learn things about Stu; he uses people, mostly the various people he needs for his PR job, especially his gofer (Keith Nobbs), and a girl named ‘Pam,’ (Katie Holmes), whom Stu calls daily and hopes to hook up with even though he has a wife. We believe his protestations that he does this just to ‘have the possibility’ to boost his ego. Like his fake $2,000 watch, status is possession to Stu. The caller mocks this. A lazier film would have had Stu be the hero, pinned down by a madman. The killer is mad, but Stu is guilty too; the film works because we believe both angles.
The police standoff is helmed by Forrest Whitaker, and he does a good job here. Sarcastic in some other roles like the Scwharzenegger vehicle “The Last Stand,” here he is fitting and believable. He at first thinks Stu killed the pimp and acts appropriately. But when he begins to suspect something fouler is afoot, he comes across as kind. Some of the dialogue between he and Stu just works. He dismisses Stu’s coaxed insults when he must, and looks for clues between the lines. Watching this, there’s no forgetting that we’re witnessing a movie, but I didn’t mind; their interactions are pleasant while still being tense.
Both Farrell and Sutherland are good here. “Phone Booth” tasks Farrell with a lot, and he delivers. The movie would have fallen apart without a good actor in his shoes, and it’s no surprise that now in the 2020s he’s re-emerging as a force to be admired. Sutherland is adequately creepy, but I think what I liked most about him are his insights, not his sadistic mockery.
There’s one scene where he makes Stu confess to his wife (Rhada Mitchell) the betrayal he makes with Pam everyday, and intimates that it’s a betrayal of the mind. I found that intriguing. Thinking things isn’t doing them, but it’s the start of doing them…maybe the worst part. The scene where Stu ultimately confesses all is shot well and wholly believable. It’s for his own benefit he’s saying these things, and per Farrell’s acting you really do feel sorry for him. I guess for this movie to work, you’d have to. Schumacher and writer Larry Cohen do well with the material.
But ultimately, “Phone Booth” comes from a simpler time. This isn’t one of those movies where last-minute twists insult our intelligence, or sequel plugs answer for closing credits. It had a $13M budget and grossed less than $47M in North America. It’s a unique 2000s thriller that doubles as a morality play, and ends in a way that you want to see. The movie doesn’t glorify violence or betrayal, but comments on it, and the cynical critic in me can’t help but feel a film like this is where “Saw” got its grander ideas. But at the end of the day it’s entertaining and feels thrilling, which is everything a movie like this should be.
“Phone Booth” ages well and still holds up. It’s worth a revisit for those who haven’t seen it in a while or a first-time-watch for those who missed it years ago.
“Phone Booth” is streaming on Apple TV and Prime Video.
