You won't be disappointed!

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Oh, this was utterly boring. One great big talkie, and they talked about stuff I really didn't care about. This was stupid. Just stupid! It became repetitive and boring. I couldn't wait for this tedious slow-moving-nothing-happening talkie to end, and when the ending finally came, I was like "Oh, whatever...next!"

Alfred Hitchcock made a number of films in which the action is confined, or virtually confined, to a limited area, such as a lifeboat in "Lifeboat" or a single flat in "Rope" or "Rear Window". In the 1960s he had the idea of making a film in an even more confined space- a phone booth(or, as we Brits would say, a telephone box) - but abandoned the project when he could not come up with a satisfactory plot. Larry Cohen, the scriptwriter who had worked with him on that project, later revived the idea, and this is the result.Stuart Shepard, a New York showbiz publicist, has just finished making a call from a phone booth on Eighth Avenue when the phone rings. Stuart foolishly answers it and finds that the caller knows his name. Worse, it turns out that the caller also knows quite a lot about Stuart's private life and business affairs, matters that he was hoping to keep secret. The caller knows that Stuart is planning to cheat on his wife Kelly with a young woman named Pam. (It was Pam whom Stuart was calling from the booth; he dare not do so from his mobile phone in case Kelly checks his phone records). The caller also knows that Stuart has been fooling his clients by pretending to have much more influence in the showbiz world than is actually the case. He wants Stuart to make a public confession of his wrongs against Kelly, against Pam (who has no idea that he is married) and against his clients. Stuart tries to hang up, but the caller warns him that if he does, or if he attempts to leave the booth, he will be shot dead.Things then go from bad to worse. A man named Leon, angry that Stuart is spending so long on the phone and refuses to get off the line, tries to force his way in and starts smashing the side of the booth. The caller, who has a high-powered rifle trained on the booth from an overlooking window in a surrounding building, shoots Leon dead. Stuart still cannot get off the line, even when the police arrive. They suspect Stuart of being Leon's murderer but are unwilling to arrest him immediately as they believe him to be armed, so a tense standoff ensues.The plot is an ingenious one, and director Joel Schumacher manages to generate a good deal of tension. (The plot unfolds in real time; this is one of the few movies which scrupulously adheres to the classical unities of time, place and action). There is a good acting performance from Forest Whitaker as the police captain in charge of the operation. Colin Farrell copes well with the difficult task of working out exactly how Stuart should be played; he cannot be entirely sympathetic, because if he did not have a guilty secret the caller would have no reason to single him out, but he must never be so unpleasant that the audience lose all sympathy with him. "Who cares whether the hero gets shot or not?" is not a good basis for a thriller.The trouble, however, is that the plot is too ingenious. I could well understand why Hitchcock became dissatisfied with the basic idea and withdrew from the project. There is no real reason why Stuart, or anyone else, should spend an hour-and-a-half in a phone booth except to satisfy the requirements of a very contrived and artificial plot.Hitch, I suspect, would also have disliked the way in which Cohen and Schumacher treat the mysterious caller. The great man was fascinated by psychology, especially the psychology of the criminal mind, but this film never explains why the caller acts in the way he does. How does he know so much about Stuart? Why is he so angered by Stuart's minor dishonesties and why does he believe that public humiliation is the only fitting punishment? There is no suggestion that he is a friend of Kelly or Pam, and laughs off Stuart's suggestion that he might be a disgruntled former client. Why does he kill Leon, who does not appear to have done him any personal harm? Why does a man so intent on enforcing the commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" pay so little heed to "Thou shalt not kill"? The film-makers simply brush all these questions, and others, under the carpet, hoping that the audience will not notice them.The real answer to all these questions is that the caller has to have this knowledge, and has to act in this manner, otherwise there wouldn't be a film. That, I'm afraid, is simply the lazy man's way of film-making. 6/10

It's hard to Imagine a more Believable and Compelling Performance in 2004 from an Actor than this one from Colin Farrell in Joel Schumacher's Tight Little Film.With a Low-Budget, a Sharp Script from Larry Cohen, and some Good Voice Acting from Kiefer Sutherland, the Inconsistent Director Crafted this Piece of Ranting Pop Culture about Honesty, Narcissism, and Indifference on the Streets of New York City, America.One Set Films are Tough to Pull Off. Plane, Train, Automobile, Room, or "Phone Booth", it doesn't make much difference, Movies must Move, by Definition. But Once in Awhile it can be done with the Talent, Imagination, and Cleverness that this Production Contains.It Reminds at times of "The Twilight Zone", an "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Episode, or an Off-Broadway Play.Running Only 80 Minutes Helps as Things Happen Quickly and with a Melodramatic, almost Maniacal Pace, it is a Gut-Wrenching, Heart-Rending Experience with Colin Farrell, Schumacher, and Larry Cohen at the Top of Their Game.

Phone Booth (2002): Dir: Joel Schumacher / Cast: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell, Katie Holmes, Kiefer Sutherland: Thriller about isolation and confrontation. It stars Colin Farrell as a business man who lies to clients to excel until one day he picks up the receiver of a pay phone and informed that if he hangs up, the gun aimed in his direction will fire. He sees it as a bad joke until details are given regarding his affair to another client unknown to his wife. To complicate matters the caller contacts this client to inform her that Farrell is in fact, married. After a fatal incident, the police arrive on the scene. Interesting setup descends into a series of episodes between Farrell and the police, and Farrell and the caller. Conclusion is clever and director Joel Schumacher makes great use of a limited location. Farrell gives an exhausting sense of energy as an individual whose closet full of skeletons is about to be revealed but not without some redemption. Forest Whitaker does well as police chief in what could have been a mere standard role but he plays it out realistically. Radha Mitchell plays Ferrell's wife who receives a confession. Katie Holmes plays the client who will learn who Farrell is and her bad position. The voice on the phone belongs to Kiefer Sutherland but perhaps a little screen time would have played out more effectively. Strong theme regarding attitudes that eventually entrap us. Score: 7 ½ / 10