The 2002 thriller Telephone booth is one of Colin Farrell’s most underrated movies. Farrell plays New York journalist Stu Shepard, who finds himself trapped in a phone booth, on the phone with a stranger who forces him to reveal his secrets while watching at gunpoint from a nearby building. Farrell’s portrayal of the desperate Stu is central to the success of Telephone boothwhich received a 72% positive Rotten tomatoes Ratings and critical praise for his unusual filming style: taking place in one location, Telephone booth was filmed in real-time.
Filming in real time means that the events of the movie take place in the time it takes to watch it. As it is not a commonly used format, movies that take place in real time must be creative and effective. Telephone booth is a relatively short movie, lasting under 90 minutes, and this time frame and format would be challenging enough for a director to build tension, develop characters and tell a story. However, another unusual aspect presents an even bigger challenge: almost the entire movie takes place in the phone booth, however Telephone booth Make the challenges work.
Phone booth taking place in one place in real time made it incredibly tense
The role of the caller was recast to Kiefer Sutherland at the last minute
Once the phone call sets the story in motion, the confined setting of Telephone booth Made the movie feel extremely claustrophobic, like The tiny phone booth is a visual representation of Stu’s obsession. With such a short running time, every moment had to count to move the plot forward and increasing the tension the longer Stu was in the phone booth. As the movie takes place in real time, the viewer only knows what Stu knows, which means the caller could be affiliated with anyone outside the phone booth, and anyone approaching the phone booth could be dangerous.
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Casting the caller was essential to the success of Telephone booth Because the actor had to be really scary, just use his voice. Actor Ron Eldard was originally cast as the caller, but after Eldard recorded all his lines, screenwriter Larry Cohen was not happy with the result. Cohen told director Joel Schumacher that Ron’s voice “Lacking the mesmerizing tone I’d expected,” and so Schumacher hired veteran villain actor Kiefer Sutherland, who re-recorded all the phone call lines. His menacing yet composed performance made The Caller one of Sutherland’s best villain roles.
Joel Schumacher made an intense thriller out of a boring phone booth premise
Alfred Hitchcock wanted to direct the Phone Booth movie, but he couldn’t figure out how to make it work
Maybe that makes Telephone booth So impressive is how restrictive its premise is. On the surface, it sounds like the foundation of a largely uneventful story. As the one location wasn’t compelling and there were few time jumps, it was up to other aspects of the movie to make up for the lack of variety here. Schumacher understood this, tellingly SPLICEDwire “It has every challenge you could imagine.“But, Telephone boothIt’s tight script and intense performances Of the actors involved (especially Farrell, who hardly slept to believably portray Stu’s unraveling mental state) Telephone booth In a powerful and deep psychological thriller against the odds.
like Telephone boothAlfred Hitchcock movies are also known for being tense, character-driven and highly suspenseful. When Cohen and Hitchcock met, they discussed the phone booth idea, but neither could find a reason for the man to stay trapped in the booth for an entire movie. yet, Hitchcock was interested in the phone booth setting And sometimes joined with Cohen, but Cohen did not find his reason for the man to stay in there until after Hitchcock died. The idea that even one of the greatest directors of all time couldn’t find a way to make this idea work underscores the risks that came with making it. Telephone booth.
Source: SPLICEDwire