Film Reviews

Phone Booth

• Rating:
• Director: Joel Schumacher.
• Starring: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Kiefer Sutherland, Katie Holmes, Richard T. Jones, Radha Mitchell.
• Details: US / 83 minutes / (15PG).

After a couple of high profile misfires, Colin Farrell makes good in one of the first films he made after he traipsed off to Hollywood a few years ago. Delayed in post production and more recently by unfortunate comparisons with the Washington Snipers, Phone Booth is nonetheless a crisp and economical thriller. It might not have that much in the way of depth, but the movie engineers enough momentum from its high concept premise to power it home. Farrell plays Stu Shepard, a sleazy New York publicist. Every afternoon, Stu uses the same pay phone to ring a client and potential girlfriend (Holmes). One day, after making his call, the phone rings and Stu picks up. A voice tells him if he hangs up, he'll be shot. Initially sceptical, Stu quickly comes to realise that the voice is telling the truth. Make no mistake about it, Phone Booth has a tenuous grip on reality and the final quarter sees Schumacher lose some control over matters by jacking up the morality stakes. But not even the director of Batman and Robin can ruin the potential of this brisk little thriller, and Farrell's urgent performance confirms that he has more than just good looks and a filthy mouth.

Review by Garreth Murphy