PHONEBOOTH (M) presented in 35mm

Phone Booth at The Revival House Perth

Slick New York publicist Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) uses a Midtown Manhattan phone booth daily to call his mistress Pam (Katie Holmes), keeping the affair hidden from his wife Kelly (Radha Mitchell). On this particular afternoon, after hanging up with Pam, the phone rings—and when Stu answers, a mysterious caller (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) reveals he's been watching Stu's lies and manipulations. The caller is a sniper with Stu in his crosshairs, and he won't let Stu leave the booth alive unless he confesses his sins publicly. When Stu tries to flee, the caller shoots a nearby pimp, framing Stu for murder. As police led by Captain Ramey (Forest Whitaker) surround the booth and media helicopters circle overhead, Stu becomes trapped in a psychological game where the sniper forces him to confront every lie he's built his life upon—all while keeping his finger on the trigger.

Director Joel Schumacher strips away spectacle to deliver pure, claustrophobic tension in this 2002 thriller that unfolds almost entirely in a single location. The film's brilliance lies in its simplicity—one phone booth, 81 minutes of real-time terror, and Colin Farrell carrying the entire film through a tour-de-force performance. Kiefer Sutherland's unseen sniper becomes genuinely menacing through voice alone, playing God and confessor simultaneously. Matthew Libatique's cinematography finds endless ways to shoot the confined space, using split screens and impossible angles to maintain visual energy. The script by Larry Cohen turns what could be a gimmick into a taut moral thriller about accountability. Forest Whitaker provides calm authority as the negotiator trying to save Stu's life. It's high-concept filmmaking executed with precision—proof that constraint breeds creativity.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Sunday, May 24th at 7:40PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: M (Medium level violence and coarse language)

Schumacher traps Farrell in a phone booth for 81 minutes of pure tension—experience this claustrophobic thriller on 35mm film.

Presented by: The Revival House Perth