Phone Booth (2003) * * *

Directed by:  Joel Schumacher

Starring:  Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Kiefer Sutherland, Radha Mitchell, Katie Holmes

Jim Carrey was attached to star in Phone Booth while it was in development.     Thank goodness he did not stay attached.     Don't get me wrong.     Under the right circumstances, Carrey can be an effective dramatic actor.     I don't think he would've been able to play as sneaky, slick, and morally malleable as Colin Farrell does here.     Carrey would've tried to inject some likability into the role and that just will not do.

The role in question is Stu Shepard, a weasel publicist forever making false promises, exaggerated claims, and treating his assistant like crap.     He struts the streets of Manhattan like he owns them, with his lackey trailing close behind picking up the pieces.     Stu speaks in a Noo Yawk accent and oozes contempt in his stylish clothes and jewelry.     So how does he wind up trapped in a phone booth with a seemingly omnipresent sniper tracking his moves?     How does the sniper know why Stu used the booth in the first place?    How does the sniper know Stu's personal secrets?     We don't know, but as voiced by Kiefer Sutherland he sure sounds dangerous.     And he is enjoying every second of watching Stu try to squirm out of the predicament.

Stu's quandary draws attention when the sniper shoots a man who wants Stu to step out of the booth.   Stu can't leave under threat of death, but he also can't tell anyone why he must stay there and why he can't hang up the phone.     NYPD Detective Ramey (Whitaker) arrives on the scene with dozens of squad cars.     People gather and Stu is soon on the news as a potential murder suspect.     There is the business of a gun hidden in the booth which makes Stu seem guilty.     Detective Ramey at first wants Stu to step out of the booth and surrender, but he senses Stu may not necessarily be the murderer.     After all, he is stuck talking on the phone and can't hang up.     Whitaker adeptly handles the tricky role of a detective who begins to understand the gravity of the situation without expressly saying so.

What does the sniper want out of this?    For Stu to confess his sins as a husband and publicist to the world.     Stu uses the phone booth to call his mistress (Holmes) and thus keep the affair from his wife Kelly (Mitchell).     Would Stu rather die than confess his affair to his wife and admit to the TV cameras that he is a louse?     Is the sniper human at all?    Is he God?    The movie wisely never explains because it doesn't matter.    Phone Booth works in the moment as a tense thriller with minimal characters and minimal locations.      Things are not overly complicated and the movie runs barely 85 minutes.      Director Schumacher shows once again how efficiently he can operate when not overburdened by a big budget and big, clunky visuals (like in his two Batman outings).     His better films are smaller scale, like 8mm, DC Cab, and this one.

Farrell is indeed the right choice to play Stu.    He does not want to be liked (although we do pity him) and he is willing to leave any heroic notions at the door.     When he finally does confess for real, knowing full well he may not live anyway, it is genuine and heartfelt because we see a man transformed by the ordeal.      There may be hope for the Stu Shepards of the world after all.     Hopefully they can realize this without having to be threatened by a God-like sniper.