Phone Booth (2002)
Bring phone booths back again.
Presentation:
When nearly an entire film takes place in a phone booth, you know the performances have to be good. A man is taken hostage in a phone booth at gunpoint by a sniper in NYC. Colin Farrell demonstrates his range as a slime ball we can still root for with his demanding performance. However, Kiefer Sutherland steals the show despite having little screen time with one of the most memorable voices in cinema. He sounds ominous and powerful, which is an impressive feat considering he only has his voice to work with. During the age of bootleg DVD blockbusters, this film stands out for being one of the more memorable films with gritty style reminiscent of Safdie’s intensity.
Conclusion:
A nail biter, you’d wish there was a sequel to this hostage thriller despite having a pretty unsubstantial script. This is one of those movies made when you could base the entire film around a singular idea. What if we made an entire movie about a man taken hostage in a phone booth? And it’s one of the few times that it works and you can’t really complain as it doesn’t market itself as anything bigger. It’s compelling even if it is admittedly a trashy 80 minute flick, a simple but great midnight phone call.
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