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Phone Booth
Director: Joel Schumacher (2002)
Distributor: 20th Century Fox. Certificate: 15
In a bustling downtown Manhattan street, a public phone rings and a person who happens to be standing next to it answers. It is the sort of thing that anyone might do just out of curiosity. But imagine hearing the voice of someone that you do not recognise, but who clearly knows you. Then imagine that you are told that a high-powered rifle is trained on you and that you will be shot if you make one false move. Sounds pretty scary? Well, that is Phone Booth and, unlikely as it might seem, Joel Schumacher manages to direct an attention-grabbing film that is focused almost entirely around one man in a phone booth.
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The unfortunate occupant of the phone booth is Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell), a hard-nosed publicity agent who has little thought for the people he has to tread on in order to maintain his flashy lifestyle. Stu has just called one of his clients, Pam McFadden (Katie Holmes) ~ an aspiring actress ~ and been turned down in his request that she meet him for dinner. It is then that Stu picks up the ringing phone in the public call box and a mysterious voice orders him to call his wife Kelly (Radha Mitchell) and tell her of his attempted liaison with Pam. |
At first, Stu thinks the caller is someone playing a sick joke until the phone booth is fired on. Meanwhile, in the busy street, no-one except Stu is aware of the sniper. As the phone booth is situated opposite a pick-up point for prostitutes, Stu’s occupancy of the booth quickly angers the women who are missing out on their trade. They bring their pimp across the road who then tries to drag Stu from the phone booth. The pimp is shot dead by the sniper and Stu is believed to be the shooter by the prostitutes and other passers by.
Very quickly the area is cordoned off by police, headed by Captain Ramey (Forrest Whittaker) who then begins the process of negotiation with Stu. The problem is that the telephone conversation between Stu and the mysterious sniper is continuing, and Stu is only able to respond to Ramey in the way that the sniper wishes.
You’ll have to go along and watch the film yourself to know how it all works out, but don’t be put off by thinking how on earth a full length feature film centred around a man in a phone booth can work. It is a film that really does keep you on the edge of your seat. And you may think twice about picking up that ringing phone next time you pass one in the high street!
THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
Some key themes: The need for honesty and integrity; confession
The mysterious phone booth caller is clearly a sick individual. During the course of the film, he reveals through conversation with Stu that it is not the first time he has made someone pay for living a self-centred life. A pornographer and a corrupt company manager are among those who have already been executed by this self-styled moral crusader. There is no way that the sniper’s actions can be excused or explained away as anything other than murder. But Phone Booth certainly confronts us with some of the feelings and issues that are around when the ugly side of our human nature is found out.
For Stu Shepard, he is forced into owning up to his wife that he was planning to initiate an affair with a young actress. Admittedly, he does this only because he is given no choice by the sniper, but it nevertheless makes clear ~ not least to Stu ~ the consequences of his actions. He is forced to face the reality of his life, that he is a self-centred, dishonest man who has very little thought for those around him ~ including his nearest and dearest.
For all of us, if we are honest, there are dark corners in our life that we would prefer no-one else to see. And sometimes we carry on as if our deceptions do not matter. As long as we are not found out might be the underlying motto. Yet that takes us into very dangerous territory. Dishonesty has a habit of being discovered. But even if we are able to sustain a deception with other people, how can we hide such a thing from God who is closer to us than our very breath?
There is something about getting things out in the open and making a fresh start that is extremely challenging, yet hugely rewarding.
‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives’ (1 John 1.8-10 ~ New International Version).
In Phone Booth Stu Shepard was given no choice but to own up about his faults and failings, in particular in relation to his wife. Through the process he also becomes aware of how his greed, his ambition, and his constant deception actually makes him a very unpleasant person who constantly hurts the people closest to him. In facing his lack of honesty and integrity and owning up to it, the film leaves us with the impression that Stu becomes a better person, keen to make amends and move on.
Of course I am not suggesting that any of you reading this are in the same league as Stu in terms of dishonesty and deception. But my guess is that all of us are, at times, less honest than we might be. There might also be things that we are keeping covered up. What is important to remember is that we can unburden ourselves of these things by acknowledging them before God and receiving his grace and forgiveness. That is a wonderful truth to hold on to. But we must also face up to our responsibilities for the wrongs we commit against other people and that is one of the hardest things to do.
Have your say on the discussion forum....
· Although Stu was forced to own up to his wife about his lack of honesty and integrity, do you think the eventual outcome for him was a good one, and why?
· Should Christians always be honest in their dealings with others? Can it ever be right to carry on a deception ~ if so, in what circumstances?
To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.
