Phone Booth (2002)

Phone Booth (2002)

7/10

Starring

Colin Firth

Kiefer Sutherland

Forest Whitaker

Directed by Joel Schumacher

Phone Booth was one of those movies—brief, straight to the point, and packed with a tingly feeling that keeps you excited as you watch. As the events unfold, you ask yourself, “Who wouldn’t answer a ringing phone?”
It was here I first got to see Colin Farrell perform before I had the pleasure of seeing him in Minority Report (2002). He had my full attention with his acting in this movie, and Kiefer Sutherland’s voice is something you’d never mistake anywhere.

The movie was both a critical and commercial success, and when you watch it, you’ll understand why. It’s great, exciting, and comes at you from every possible angle.

The movie’s plot follows a man named Stu (Colin Farrell), a publicist who thrives by spinning lies. He manipulates people and always makes sure he comes out on top. His lies catch up with him when he makes a call from a phone booth and, instead of walking away, hears the phone ring and picks it up.
On the other end is a man who knows everything about Stu—who he is, the lies he’s told, and even his wife Kelly and his side fling, Pam.

Stu is uneasy and wants to hang up, but the voice on the phone has enough information to keep him uncomfortable and glued to the spot.
The voice warns, “Stu, if you hang up, I will kill you.”

This threat becomes real when a man trying to force Stu off the phone is killed by the voice on the other end—via a sniper rifle.

The cops show up, and the movie still has enough juice to keep going. The caller reveals he’s a vigilante killer who targets liars and thieves. He even tells Stu about others he’s killed—people Stu recognizes from news reports about sniper attacks. The movie goes from exciting to thrilling. Because when you are watching something like this, you have an expectation. Either, Stu gets killed, or the sniper gets caught, how the movie navigates these two possible outcomes, well you will need to watch it to find out.

This movie was shot in just ten days and grossed 97 million worldwide against a 13 million budget.
The acting is on point, and Kiefer Sutherland’s voice work isn’t just scary—it’s captivating. I encourage you to go see this movie again if you’ve already watched it. There’s so much fun in reliving all the twists and turns that happen in this film.