Phone Booth (2003) Review

"If you hang up, I will kill you."
-The Caller



Stu Shepard (Colin Ferrell), an arrogant publicist, picks up a ringing phone after finishing a call in a phone booth.  On the other end of the call is madman with a sniper rifle (Kiefer Sutherland) who knows everything about Stu and wants to play a deadly game.


 What Works:

I love movies that take place in one isolated location.  Phone Booth dials this concept up to 11.  99% of the movie takes place in a phone booth.  I love this concept and the execution on this premise is very well done.

Colin Ferrell is amazing as our protagonist.  He is impossible to like at the start of the film, but has a remarkable character arc.  He's incredibly believable as he shakes inside the phone booth.  Ferrell is always great, but he puts in the extra effort here.

This movie wouldn't work without a voice on the other end of that call that oozed confidence and control.  Sutherland has that in spades.  He's an excellent villain and manages to be incredibly menacing with his voice alone.  It's a memorable performance and one of the best parts of the movie.

Finally, the pacing is top notch.  This is a very short film, less than 80 minutes, and it flies by.  There isn't a single dull moments.  Like I said above, it takes place in one location.  That can be tricky to pull off, but Phone Booth never feels stagnant.  On the contrary, it moves by staying still.


What Sucks:

There were a few moments where I was getting frustrating with the police work.  The cops do a terrible job with crowd control.  I've been to plenty of active crime scenes with active shooters and suicidal people for my job and I've never been allowed anywhere near as close as the civilians in this movie.  Plus they know Stu's wife, Kelly (Radha Mitchell), is in danger, so they put her in a police car, but they keep letting her back out.  This happens three times!  Be better at your jobs, people!


Verdict:

Phone Booth is a really fun and well-paced thriller.  It executes on its excellent premise well thanks to amazing performances from Ferrell and Sutherland.  I don't love some of the actions taken by the police, but this movie has absolutely got it going on.

 9/10: Great  

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