Phone Booth

Don’t Answer That!

Main Cast: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Kiefer Sutherland, Katie Holmes

Director: Joel Schumaker

A taunt thriller with an interesting moral lesson, this offering holds the attention with excellent dialogue and solid casting. The movie stars Colin Farrell as Stu Shepard, a smooth-talking agent who, in the first fifteen minutes, displays a skill at verbal slickness that is required for his breed. Small lies are tossed off casually, all in the name of his client… and his commission. Then he steps into “the only remaining telephone booth” in that part of the city, not using his cell (for reasons that become clear later) to make a call. Done, the phone rings and he picks it up.

A mistake. On the other end is the Voice, one both menacing and smart, who seems to know a lot about Stu. And the caller is angered at his lack of honesty, and seems to have the means to do something about it. Stu remains at the phone booth, even when the police swarm in, and his ever increasing danger is heightened by the fact that those he cares about show up.

All the action takes place just on one city block, centered on the booth. A good concept, it is actually well thought out and implemented. Farrell plays his character with excellent precision: a fast-talker whose life hangs on his choosing the right words at the right time. There is a manageable number of people, with his wife, the Voice, and a police officer (Whitaker) who has to deal with this seeming crazy person while under the lens of the media.

I enjoyed this movie. It moved along well, even if contained in one place, the characters are believable, and the plot hangs together.