Now that I have completed the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest American Films of All Time list, for the most part, I think I will turn my attention to shorter films.  I have my reasons for doing so, but it mostly has to do with the time it takes to watch them and write a review.  Most of the time, I am typing up my thoughts nearly as soon as the end credits roll.  There is an advantage to this in that my mind is fresh from the experience of having seen whatever it is about which I am talking.  I also do this when I come home from the cinema, which is why I try to get in as early as possible on a Friday afternoon.  Additionally, this is not the first time I have searched for short run times on films.  One I have avoided until today is Phone Booth (2002).  I do not know why I have not seen it sooner other than I have heard nothing about its quality.  Today could have been anything, but I picked this day to finally getting around to watching it.

Before Stuart “Stu” Shepard (Colin Farrell) gets to the Phone Booth, we learn that he is a hustler.  I do not mean to suggest he is doing anything illegal.  Instead, he is involved in a legal form of hustling.  In short, he is a publicist, and all his clients are his favorite.  As he walks down the street, he switches between a couple cellular phones talking to a number of people he represents while his unpaid assistant struggles to keep up with him.  It is clear that he makes a living lying to others, and is perfectly comfortable doing so.  It is not solely his clients to whom he tells falsehoods.  Upon arriving at the antiquated communication stand, he removes his wedding ring and calls his other favorite client.  This is Pamela “Pam” McFadden (Katie Holmes).  He tries to get her to come to a nearby hotel where he says he can get the up-and-coming actress some publicity.  He obviously has intentions of doing something other than his usual business with her.  She says that she cannot come, but towards the end of the conversation he is interrupted by a man trying to deliver him a pizza.  Confused by somebody bringing him food in such a location, Stu tells the deliveryman off, but gives him a tip for his troubles.  Shortly after this, just as he is about to leave, the phone rings and he picks it up.  The Caller (Kiefer Sutherland) starts simply, wondering why Stu did not accept the gift of nourishment sent to him.  It slowly becomes more serious as the Caller begins to describe intimate details of Stu’s life.  To back up the gravity of the situation, the Caller reminds Stu of a number of other killings that seem to fit the pattern that he is now experiencing.  Apparently, the Caller stalks the city, listening in on random people’s conversations and judging certain people as being of low character.  He then finds a way to reach them over the phone and tries to get them to confess their sins.  When they do not comply, he kills them by sniping them from a hidden location.  At first, Stu is trying to do everything he can to get out of being killed.  Yet, with a few well-placed bullets from the Caller, Stu realizes he is trapped.  He is also attracting attention.  The initial group that notices the time he is taking on the phone are the sex workers across the street.  They claim to need the phone in order to conduct their business.  Stu refuses to leave, and they call upon Leon (John Enos III), their boss, to force Stu to leave.  The Caller listens to this happen, and he mistakes Stu’s confrontation with them as permission to shoot Leon.  With one shot, Leon is dead.  This is what finally brings the police, and with the police comes the television stations.  The sex workers assume that it is Stu who murdered Leon, and Captain Ed Ramsey (Forest Whitaker), the officer in charge of the scene, believes them at first.  The Caller forces Stu to get rid of Captain Ramsey through a number of excuses, with which Stu complies because he can hear the Caller threatening to take down the policeman.  At the same time, Stu’s wife, Kelly Shapard (Radha Mitchell), gets to the location, attracted by the news coverage.  Stu attempts to fool the Caller into thinking she is not Kelly, but the Caller sees through the ruse.  Matters are made worse when Pam comes, too.  Now the Caller has three targets to choose from between Stu, Kelly, and Pam.  To solve the situation, the Caller is giving Stu options.  The first is to admit everything publicly, all of his lies and potential infidelities.  Stu is naturally hesitant to do so because it would ruin him.  This is the choice Stu makes later, at a tremendous emotional cost.  The others involve death.  He can choose between the Caller sniping either Kelly or Pam.  The other choice is to grab the gun hidden in a panel above him in the booth and let the trigger-happy cops take care of him.  Yet, at one point Stu is able to make a call to Kelly on his cell phone that helps the police understand that he is the true victim in what is happening.  Thus, they start looking for the person who is on the other end of the line with Stu.  This eventually produces a nearby abandoned building.  However, when they enter the correct room, they find a rifle, all the right equipment, and the dead pizza deliveryman.  The Caller flees when Stu begins saying that the cops are coming to get the sniper, doing so because the Caller begins threatening Kelly and Pam once more.  At any rate, they are able to rescue Stu, and he promises Kelly that he will be better.  Unfortunately, the Caller is able to get away, taunting Stu one last time as he lies in an ambulance, going under from a sedative.

I could have done with a different ending to Phone Booth.  The Caller is a monster, and I like to see such people brought to justice.  Then again, Stu is no angel himself, though he does not seem to have ever actually slept with Pam.  There are some interesting things said about such sins, and the benefits of confession and absolution, that caught this Catholics attention.  This is not me using the language of my Faith.  The words “confession” and “absolution” are used in the film.  There are also some tantalizing parallels between the eponymous location and where us Catholics go to practice the Sacrament.  In the Confessional, whatever it is you tell the priest stays there, and is only between you and God.  I have heard stories of priests being given the grace of forgetfulness once they leave their own side of the booth for the day. Unfortunately, too many Catholics forget these notions and fear going to Confession.  It works a little differently for Stu.  He is forced to tell Kelly, with Pam on hand, about the thoughts he has had about his favorite client, and how he is a liar in general.  To her credit, Kelly appears only concerned about Stu’s safety.  What intrigues me most is the after effects.  I have not met too many Catholics who have gone to Confession and come out of it feeling worse about what they have done.  You can see this with Stu.  Granted, one does not usually have to face a life-or-death situation when one goes to Confession, at least not immediately.  If you do not go, then eventually this becomes a problem for your immortal soul. Nonetheless, things are so much better when you do go.

I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by Phone Booth, though, again, I would have liked a different ending.  At the same time, it is nothing spectacular.  There is a little bit of cursing, though the violence is never over the top, and there is no nudity despite the sex workers.  At under an hour and a half, it is not bad.