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Average User Score: 7 (84 sources)

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zophar53

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Released in 2003, Phone Booth stars mainly Colin Farrell, but also includes several other relatively big names. Farrell plays a cocky, smooth-talking publicist with no conscience. At the start, we see him working several of his...
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Released in 2003, Phone Booth stars mainly Colin Farrell, but also includes several other relatively big names. Farrell plays a cocky, smooth-talking publicist with no conscience. At the start, we see him working several of his “clients� to get what he wants out of each one, lying and deceiving anyone he can and stringing along some young kid as a trainee. He has no cares except keeping up his façade. Soon after, he goes to a phone booth in the middle of Times Square and gets a phone call that will change his life. The person on the other end of the line tells him that if he leaves the phone booth or hangs up, he will be shot via sniper rifle.

Almost the entire film takes place in this one location and is only about an hour and a half long. While this may sound limiting, suspense and mood are the name of the game here, and these are done extremely well. The cinematography, music, and the haunting voice of the faceless caller (who is recognizable, but not immediately so) are all used to maximum effect as the tension is ramped up a notch every few minutes. At first, Farrell is convinced he is being messed with and was randomly chosen by some psycho. We learn that this caller knows quite a lot about who he is and how he lives his life. Eventually, a quarrel over the use of the phone booth ensues and someone is killed. Once the cops show up, the suspense is taken to a whole new level as the police are clueless about who is on the other end of the line and attempt to negotiate with Colin as a killer. Finally, it is revealed that the caller wants to teach Farrell a lesson and confess to the rest of the world that his life is a lie and he does not appreciate what he has.

The movie keeps you interested the whole time and the acting is excellent. Farrell, the caller, and the police chief that runs the negotiation are the three main actors but they play their parts well. The caller’s voice is perfect for building tension and walks the line between calm and calculating and slightly insane. Farrell is on the hot seat the whole time and acts his part very well considering that the only way he can interact with his adversary is over the phone. At the end, his character goes through a complete breakdown as the image that he has dedicated himself to maintaining comes crumbling down. Without saying too much, when he finally bares his soul to the world it is truly memorable, some great acting if you ask me.

Sadly the DVD has only one special feature, an audio commentary track. It is a good one however, as the director explains the process of filming a movie on location on only one set. This one should be easy to find on store and rental shelves and I definitely recommend it. One of the most suspenseful movies I’ve ever seen!

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Posted mar 8, 2008 4:13 pm pt

MoreCowbell6924

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This movie suprisingly good considering the setting of the film. A good job by the cast helps, and the suspense keeps you wondering what could happen next. On paper it might seem ridiculous, but this thirller is actually quite original, it turns...
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This movie suprisingly good considering the setting of the film. A good job by the cast helps, and the suspense keeps you wondering what could happen next. On paper it might seem ridiculous, but this thirller is actually quite original, it turns out to be an entertaining thriller that will probably suprise and satisfy.

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Posted apr 26, 2007 5:23 am pt

CTUBauer24

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This is a movie to see as a thirrler as it has you thinking was is going have to happen next all the way threw i like it. was a good movie Kiefer Sutherland does a good job. the voice of the caller is relly good as well

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Posted feb 17, 2007 1:05 am pt

amauriel

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Such a cool flick! I had no idea what to expect going into see this movie so I was quite surprised and impressed with it. The movie was original and the cast did an outstanding job acting out a very thrilling script in a small environment.

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Posted feb 9, 2007 8:25 am pt

martinha85

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It's amazing how an entire movie can be done inside a phone booth. Not a bad movie, it doesn't have a lot of action as I it inside a phone booth but has a lot of suspense.

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Posted jan 27, 2007 8:08 am pt

• [+] Washington Post
  
  80
  Phone Booth is 82 New York minutes long, all of them exciting.

  by Stephen Hunter | Read Full Review »
• [+] Film Threat
  
  80
  It spends little time on exposition, instead quickly getting into the thrust of the movie. For a film like this, it’s advantageous, grabbing the audience almost immediately after the opening credits.

  by Clint Morris | Read Full Review »
• [+] Wall Street Journal
  
  80
  Provides a reminder of the power of unadorned drama and language -- whole torrents of eloquent words -- in the service of a nifty idea.

  by Joe Morgenstern | Read Full Review »
• [+] Washington Post
  
  80
  What keeps Phone Booth going, despite its premise, is the acting and the writing, both of which are top-notch.

  by Michael O'Sullivan | Read Full Review »
• [+] Boston Globe
  
  75
  Short, suspenseful, funny, and profane, the film's a throwback to the neat little B-level thrillers the entertainment industry used to crank out by the dozen in the post- World War II era and the early days of TV.

  by Ty Burr | Read Full Review »
• [+] Christian Science Monitor
  
  75
  Has undertones of serious commentary on American violence, thanks to the screenplay by Larry Cohen, who often uses horror-film plots to explore cracks and contradictions in society.

  by David Sterritt | Read Full Review »
• [+] Charlotte Observer
  
  75
  A perverse kind of payback for every terrorizing cabbie, bullying streetwalker, insulting bike messenger and screaming corner grocer in Manhattan.

  by Lawrence Toppman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Tribune
  
  75
  A lean, mean tension machine, setting up its premise, executing it with smarts, throwing in enough twists to keep things interesting, and wrapping it up before anyone can get fatigued or reflective. It's on the money.

  by Mark Caro | Read Full Review »
• [+] Rolling Stone
  
  75
  Farrell is a dynamo. And Kiefer Sutherland, whose sniper role is essentially a voice on the phone, matches Farrell subtle shift for subtle shift.

  by Peter Travers | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  75
  The best pure thriller of 2003 to-date.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Sun-Times
  
  75
  The movie is essentially a morality play, and it's not a surprise to learn that Larry Cohen, the writer, came up with the idea 20 years ago--when there were still phone booths and morality plays.

  by Roger Ebert | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  75
  A tabloidy, nail-biting thriller.

  by Lou Lumenick | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Chronicle
  
  75
  The result is a movie that combines a seriousness of purpose with an impish delight in craft, in a way Hitchcock would have appreciated.

  by Mick LaSalle | Read Full Review »
• [+] Variety
  
  70
  Gussied up with a host of filmmaking tricks in an attempt to keep things lively, this intensely acted little exercise just doesn't have enough going for it, with the exception of gradually growing interest in lead Colin Farrell.

  by Todd McCarthy | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  67
  It's a movie perfectly designed for tossing back popcorn (the jumbo kind so you don't have to leave your seat during the show); not until later do you get the empty feeling that you've swallowed an entire bucket of popped air.

  by Marjorie Baumgarten | Read Full Review »