Phone Booth

Brilliant thriller about sleazy publicist Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) who picks up the ringing phone in a phone booth only to find a killer at the other end of the line. The killer has been tracking Stu, and knows all his secrets and sins…and wants Stu to face up to them. He has a high-powered rifle trained on Stu in the phone booth, and he won’t let him leave until Stu has confessed. It’s a fabulously simple concept, executed with supreme confidence. Apart from the opening scenes, which follow Stu on a walk through Manhattan towards the phone booth in question, the entire film is shot in and around that one, claustrophobic location. At just over 80 minutes, the film doesn’t pad the story with sub-plots and diversions: it stays totally focused on Stu, the sniper, and the phone call. The tension it builds is incredible, and it has a powerful climax to match. Truly extraordinary.