review: phone booth

Thanks to Camille's connections, Jason, Nikki and I caught the preview of Joel Schumacher's film, starring Colin "No-I-Don't-Pluck-Eyebrows" Farrell.

Going in, my mind was prepared to compare it (unwillingly) to the film that inspired it, Liberty Stands Still (with Linda Fiorentino), which was so boring that Nikki and I gave up on it a third of the way through.

Phone Booth, by comparison, was a superior film. Almost constructed as a one-act play, it adhered (mostly) to two of the three classical Unities. Snazzy editing and trickery made what would have been a painful experience actually an enjoyable one. Farell's acting was better than expected, but then beginning with his turn in Tigerland, he is being touted as one of the next Big Things (his ham acting in Daredevil should just be mercifully forgotten).

I did have problems with the integrity and consistency of the writing. In many areas the conversation between protagonist and antagonist seemed forced and rather trite - but then again, that is one of the biggest challenges in playwriting, so its initial clumsiness is easily understood.

All in all, definitely not a waste of life.

Final Rating

Phone Booth - ******