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In my review of the underwhelming thriller Locked, published in April, I made heavy comparisons to the 2002 classic Phone Booth. Both films' premises center around a person trapped in a single location facing a life-or-death situation, in which they are forced to confess their sins (as it were) and resolve to make amends by doing better going forward, provided they survive their unusual ordeal. The comparison was not made lightly, as the efforts made in Locked to replicate that premise were minimal at best and insulting at worst. Rather than capitalize on the cleverness of the concept, Locked chose to relegate itself to a needlessly gory and adolescent commentary on class disparity, concluding with a villain reveal that was as clichéd as it was lame.
As I mentioned in that review, Phone Booth did the concept better, and I stand by my recommendation to avoid watching Locked and instead watch Phone Booth. And today, I would like to elaborate further on why.
The story follows a petty crook named Stu (Colin Farrell) as he navigates the city, going about his daily business. He stops in a phone booth to call his wife. Right after ending the call, the phone rings again, and Stu feels compelled to answer. When he does, his life is literally put on hold. The voice on the other end, known only as The Caller (Kiefer Sutherland), informs Stu that he has a sniper rifle aimed right at him, and will not hesitate to kill him unless Stu plays by his rules: don't leave the booth, confess your crimes, and vow to do better going forward, provided he lives.
You might refer to this story as Hitchcockian, and you would not be far off. Screenwriter Larry Cohen, who penned the script for Phone Booth, originally pitched the idea to Alfred Hitchcock back in the 1960s. While they both loved the concept, they could not come up with a compelling reason to keep the protagonist in the phone booth. It wasn't until the idea of a sniper rifle occurred to Mr. Cohen in the late 1990s that the story finally took shape, and he completed the script in under a month.
While it might have been interesting to see how Hitchcock himself might have treated the material, the script ultimately landed in the hands of an equally talented storyteller, Joel Schumacher, late of A Time to Kill and Falling Down. Apparently, the script almost landed with director Michael Bay, and thank goodness it didn't because, according to IMDb, the first question he asked was, "How can we get him out of the phone booth?" Because goodness forbid Michael Bay be forced to sit still for over three seconds.
But I digress.
As a whole, the film is a remarkable thriller that succeeds in accomplishing a great deal of nuance while utilizing so few elements: a single location, a handful of primary cast members, predominantly dialogue-driven, and so on. All combined to create an experience that is as visceral and engaging as any roller coaster you might have experienced.
While all of the performances are top-notch, the one that stands out to me the most (maybe unsurprisingly) is Kiefer Sutherland as The Caller. His unique voice and remarkable talent for conveying depth make him the ideal performer for this role. Also, the character itself is far more interesting and nuanced than one might think. Yes, he is a psychopath who has murdered a few people of questionable character, but that's not all he is; he's technically, for want of a better word, a hero.
Let me be clear: I am in no way implying or suggesting that taking a sniper rifle, holding a person hostage in a phone booth, and forcing them to make amends for their transgressions under pain of death, or any other action similar to that, is, in any way, a good thing. No, what I am saying is while The Caller's actions are, let's say, less-than-noble, his reasons for doing any of them technically are. He is taking it upon himself to force people of selfish persuasions to reevaluate themselves and offers them a chance at redemption. The Caller doesn't necessarily want to kill his victims; he wants them to remember what it means to be alive.
This makes The Caller a significantly more compelling antagonist than most others, because his motivations involve trying to make the world a better place. In that way, he is the best definition of a necessary evil. Again, while I do not condone nor encourage any such actions, I do find them fascinating from a narrative standpoint. It adds an extra layer of uncertainty and ambiguity that makes any good story stand out. Plus, it reminds audiences that there are so many things out there that may harm us, but we can be strong enough to face and survive them if we put in the effort.
Phone Booth is a must-watch for any film school student and cinema enthusiast alike. It is the standard by which all similar thrillers after it have attempted to abide by and emulate. It is a beautiful story about introspection, imperfection, and redemption. If you need a solid thrill ride for your movie night, then this is one phone call you must answer.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
