“But a ringing phone has to be answered, doesn’t it?”
This line sets the stage for the thriller "Phone Booth." The film throws you into the life of Stu Sheppard (Colin Farrell), an overconfident publicist that does what he wants without thinking about the effect that it has on other people. This all comes to an end when he decides to answer a call in a phone booth. The caller has informed Stu that he is being held at gunpoint and will not be allowed to leave the booth until he has done what the caller wants. This leads to a variety of life altering events as Stu is trapped in the phone booth.
The setting of the film is what itself makes it so unique. The vast majority of the film takes place within the phone booth. The choice to contain the film to this small phone booth only enhanced the simplicity of the film itself. On the outside it seems like an hour and a half of a man talking on a phone, but in reality there is much more to the story.
The film contains countless amounts of split screens as every phone call made sowed the caller alongside another screen of the person on the other end of the call. This added an element of mystery for the man that calls Stu because it is the first time that we can hear the voice of the man on the other end of the call, but we do not know his actual identity. There is also an element of thrill added to the unknowing of the man himself as the viewer themselves are made to feel as helpless as Stu is, not knowing who or where the caller is.
This thrill of course would not have been complete had it not have been accompanied by the outstanding acting of Colin Farrell. Farrell brought to life the fear and anxiety that Stu was feeling in the situation. Had Farrell not have been as brilliant as he was in the role, the film itself could have gone from getting praise to getting no recognition at all. Farrell made every single member of the audience feel as if they themselves were in the situation -- my heart was pounding in my chest the entire film as a result of how real he made the feeling of fear.
While containing a wonderful plot, the R-rating on the film should deter any young audience members. The film had many sexual references as a result of the phone booth’s location across from a strip club and also contained some mild violence. These two factors are very mild in comparison to the massive amount of profanity said in the film. In the short span of one hour and 21 minutes, the film manages to use the F- word more than a 100 times which is the largest reason for the rating that it has.
Overall the film was executed perfectly as it is hard to imagine the writer having much different of a vision from paper to the big screen. The film also seems to explore a much larger moral goal. It has an underlying theme of the importance of honesty and trust in everyday relationships. Despite the massive amounts of profanity, the film is a must see for any person that enjoys a thriller that will keep them on the edge of their seat from start to finish.
I'm Nick. See you next week.
