I'd heard mixed reviews about this film I have to say. Some said it was a waste of an hour and a half, others said that it... well, others had the same opinion as I did.
<*dv_0*> Joel Schumacher has pulled off one of the most audacious films of the year. Faced with opposition from blockbusters such as Matrix>Reloaded and X-Men 2, this thing cost about 50 quid to make and basically has one location, a phone booth in one of the less salubrious areas of New York City.
Colin Farrell plays Stu, a not as good as he would have people believe publicist, schmoozing his way around town doing half-arsed deals with wannabee celebs and basically lying through his teeth. Then he stops off to make a call to a struggling actress from a phone booth - the same phone booth he stops at to make a call from every day...
<*dv_1*> It's not giving too much away to say that Farrell's character then becomes locked in the sights of a sniper's high-powered rifle and, should Stu put the phone down, the sniper will shoot.
The main bulk of the film happens in real-time, causing the tension to build in the cinema as well as on the New York street - you can feel the agony as Stu is toyed with by his assailant when all he wants to do is put the phone down and return to his day to day life.
It's a film of redemption, as Stu is revealed to be less the successful publicist and more the philandering, manipulative shark that he really is, and is forced to face up to this.
Yes, your palms will sweat. Yes the hairs will stand up on the back of your neck. One thing did bother me though - the first five to ten minutes of the film are totally pointless. They don't even serve as foundation for the rest of the film. So don't worry if you turn up five minutes late, you've missed nothing! |
