INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Phone Booth

Phone Booth is one of a kind. This high-concept psychological thriller more or less takes place in and around a Manhattan phone booth and plays out in more or less real time. Does the project pay off or is it just a gimmick? Before getting into all of that, you need to know the basic set-up. Almost every afternoon, Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell), a sleazy, low-rent publicist, calls Pamela McFadden (Katie Holmes) from a phone booth in a run-down neighborhood. Why does he use a pay phone instead of his cell phone? To make sure there is no record of the call for his wife Kelly (Radha Mitchell) to discover. One day, just after talking to Pamela, Stu hears the phone ring and answers. The voice at the other end (Kiefer Sutherland) announces that he is watching from one of the hundreds of windows overhead and that if Stu hangs up, he will shoot him with the high-powered rifle he has trained on the booth. When a pimp challenges Stu for monopolizing the phone and being rude to a couple of "his girls," the caller shoots and kills him. This brings the police, including Capt. Ramey (Forest Whitaker), and a new threat from the caller: If Stu reveals anything about him, he"ll shoot again. So there stands the sweating publicist in the middle of an instant circus. Thanks to the ravings of a freaked-out hooker, everyone believes Stu shot the pimp. TV cameras cut into programming to run the spectacle live. Capt. Ramey tries to negotiate, but Stu can"t explain the situation. As if this all wasn"t bad enough, the caller starts peeling away Stu"s faÁade, forcing the desperate man to tell the truth about himself. Written by Larry Cohen and directed by Joel Schumacher, Phone Booth is certainly interesting. Unfortunately, I often found myself observing the film rather than being swept away by it. Certainly there were moments that grabbed me, but not enough. So what are the problems? First, there"s the story structure. Stu gets stripped down to raw nerve level too quickly. The subsequent scenes are powerful, but not revelatory, and that makes a difference. Second is Colin Farrell"s accent. The Irish actor is one of my favorites. In just a few films, he has established himself as an actor of notable strength and versatility. Repeatedly, Farrell has shown his skill at using a generic American accent flawlessly. But in this movie he employs a rat-a-tat Bronx accent. He gets it right, but tends to aurally parade it around, especially in the early scenes of him walking brusquely while talking to his cell phone and his assistant. Later, as his character drops his faÁade, Farrell tones down the accent to a less showy level. As far as pouring out the angst, he has a field day once Stu is stripped bare (figuratively), working those thick eyebrows and puppy-dog eyes for all they"re worth. Finally, there"s the casting of Kiefer Sutherland and Forest Whitaker. Both are terrific actors, but Ö The caller is supposed to be a figure of mystery. Hell, the filmmakers even attempt to play some mind games related to his identity late in the film. So why cast Sutherland, an actor instantly recognizable by his voice? And why, if you are trying to maintain a sense of uncertainty, do you cast Forest Whitaker, one of the most soothing souls in the business, as an authority figure? An unknown actor, or at least one that seems vaguely dangerous, would have ratcheted up the tension a bit. Still, I"m glad I saw Phone Booth. In a time where cookie cutter flicks are the norm, credit must be given to those who dare to create something different.