Phone Booth

I’m recalling a lot of childhood delights these days and I love how I randomly recalled this film that gripped my parents and I when we saw it several years ago. It was lovely reliving the whole experience, so I thought to share it with everyone and probably have their thoughts on whether or not they enjoyed this American psychological thriller.

Phone Booth (2002)

What is the reward for a cheating partner? Phone Booth tells the story of Stuart Shephard (Colin Farrell), an obnoxious and deceitful New York City publicist, who is planning an affair with his client, Pamela McFadden (Katie Holmes) at his wife’s back. He heads to a phone booth to make a discreet call to Pam to avoid Kelly’s detection. After he completes his call, he gets another call from the phone in the booth and the person at the other end instructs him not to leave the booth, or else he will inform Kelly about his affair with Pam.

The caller threatens to end his life if he does not reveal his wrongdoings and acts of deceit to those involved. To demonstrate his seriousness, he accurately fires a suppressed sniper rifle. Stuart is trapped. Conceding to the caller’s demands would potentially destroy his marriage, but each second he spends in the phone booth is a second ticking away from his life. What are the odds that he can get out of the phone booth alive and that too with a miraculous change in his formerly deceitful ways?

The first time I saw this film, I hadn’t seen it from the beginning, so I’d been hopelessly rooting for Stuart against whatever evil man was preventing him from leaving the booth and causing that degree of emotional turmoil. Then I saw his awful disposition, arrogance, and infidelity the second time I saw the movie and concluded that he got what was coming to him.

I loved Kiefer Sutherland’s performance a lot as the mysterious “Caller.” Even though he wasn’t seen till the end of the film, his presence was felt every step of the way. His voice was ominous and rang with the foreboding of all the doom that was going to befall Stuart. Colin played his terrified role as well. Watching his evolution in the time he spent in the booth was something to remember. From arrogant to confused to flustered, terrified, and finally repentant. Bliss indeed.

If I’m being honest, I’m not fond of limited-setting films. I don’t know if there’s a distinct name for it but movies where everything revolves around one or two scenes. Bores the life out of me. But somehow, I didn’t find this film repulsive. Watching it now and with the emergence of other films in that genre, I wouldn’t safely call this is true thriller and you may not find it that interesting if you see it now, but it was a joy back then, and I loved all the emotions involved when I watched it. A truly delightful treat and I’m glad to be able to share it today. Hope you enjoy!

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