White-knuckled 'Phone Booth' has Hitchcock sensibility

By Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

PHONE BOOTH (Rated R) Three Stars (Good) Collin Farrell answers the call superbly in "Phone Booth" as an arrogant man trapped in a phone booth by a sniper brilliantly voiced over by Kiefer Sutherland. Both star for director Joel Schumacher. 20h Century Fox, 81 minutes.

In many respects this is the hardest type of movie to make. It's an honest, edge-of-your-seat thriller that banks on precise pacing, a smart script and even smarter acting. It's the type of film Alfred Hitchcock used to make, where the terror is psychological rather than physical, and every movie fan knows that's where the real scares lie.

The truth is not much happens in "Phone Booth," at least in the traditional sense. Colin Farrell plays Stu Shepard, a self-centered New York City media consultant who picks up a ringing pay phone and finds himself in the middle of a nightmare. On the other end is a voice he has never heard, but the caller (played by Kiefer Sutherland) knows plenty about him.

He knows Stu has been courting a beautiful young actress, despite being married. He knows Stu is taking advantage of his intern. And he knows Stu's blustering about powerful media contacts is garbage.

In the caller's mind, these are primal sins, and he's decided to teach Stu a lesson. He informs Stu that he's sitting in a nearby window with a sniper rifle, and that if he hangs up or steps out of the booth it will result in immediate death. For the remainder of the film, the audience is caught up in an intense cat-and-mouse game.

Stu tries to outwit the sniper, but each escape attempt results in a form of punishment. This sniper is playing a deadly game of Simon Says. Stu must do what he asks or risk his life or the lives of those around him.

Farrell is brilliant and proves worthy of the buzz that's been building since his breakout role in Schumacher's "Tigerland." Much as Tom Hanks carried "Castaway," Farrell owns this film. There are other actors involved, including the remarkably talented Forest Whitaker, but "Phone Booth" is all about Farrell.

This is the story of one man trapped in a desperate situation, and as the movie progresses, Stu transforms from an arrogant man to a cowering child.

Sutherland is effective too, although his role is 99 percent voiceover, a fact that reinforces Farrell's contributions.

For Schumacher, the challenge was maintaining intensity without the benefit of crutches like car chases and exploding buildings. This is difficult because the editing must be brilliant, and the camera work has to make up for the lack of action on screen.

Schumacher succeeds by tapping his viewers' "what-if" impulse, using his camera and storytelling instincts to place them right alongside Farrell. Because of that, this is the best type of thriller. It's the type that is completely believable because it could actually happen.

In retrospect, the ending is a bit of a letdown. It's Hollywood in every sense of the word, and frequent moviegoers will realize they've seen it before. But that realization shouldn't come until credits start rolling, and from that standpoint the finale still works.

In a thriller, the most important thing is keeping people in pace with the action, so their minds are never racing ahead or falling too far behind. And from that standpoint, "Phone Booth" is perfect.

Rated R for pervasive profanity and some violence.