Wacky story pulled off by talented Mann

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2004)

The premise is like "Phone Booth", a very unlikely scenario is supposed to be swallowed by the audience without it turning into a farce. How can a movie convince an audience that a weak-kneed cab driver can become an accomplice for a hit man? Our beloved hit man, Cruise, has a ludicrous assignment of laying to waste so many people in such a way that could not happen in reality. "Phone Booth" pulls it off by pulling the plug on the idea quickly before it gets lame (it clocks in at 81 minutes).

Director Michael Mann, the stylistic director of "Thief", "Heat" and producer of "Miami Vice", is very skilled in setting up the characters with well written dialogue. Mann's editing style includes throwing in "garbage" shots. He will dwell on something insignificant, such as something you might stare at while waiting for a traffic light. Mann is underrated as a director. He consistently gets convincing performances from talented actors. Jamie Foxx stands out as a major star in this film by underplaying his character. Cruise, has no choice but to play Tom Cruise. In this case, he is a nice bad guy that kills bad bad guys. Shot in very cold fluorescent looking light, he is convincing as a hit man.
Mann plays with the HDTV format. You would never guess this is the same format used to shoot "Attack of the Clones". There is a video artefact called trailing that is reminiscent of older video technology. I'm certain that this effect was deliberately incorporated to give it a 'reality' feel. Compared with the night video shot for the "Cops" TV series, or other HDTV movies with night photography, this pushed video 'look' seems to also include the look of the glare from bright lights that are in the frame. I am still not a fan of HDTV video replacing good old 35mm film, but it makes sense in this case, when considering the overall tone of the film. This is somewhat ironic, whereas most "films" shot on video want to try their best to avoid the 'video' look.

During this two hour movie, the cabbie named Max is forced to examine his life while he is being confronted with the life or death situation involving Cruise. Here is where the true core of the movie resides. The screenwriter(s) adroitly avoid the machinations of a plot that looks contrived on paper, and instead concentrate on the three central characters (the third being Annie, the pretty prosecuting attorney). Once we get inside the head of Foxx's character, we can believe the series of events (but barely at points) that drive this film. It is rare that a film delivers on both story and action. The action scenes are quick and violent, and keep the adrenaline pumping.

While this film will not change the minds of anyone about Tom Cruise, nevertheless he performs well when in the experienced hands of renowned directors (Scorcese. Levinson, Spielberg, Stone, Kubrick, Pollack). The audience can be assured also that you won't readily be able to predict how the night will end, which keeps you involved in the third act. I would not be surprised if the film is remembered at Oscar time, including acting by Foxx, and director Mann.
I give it a 7 out of 10.