Confessions: Phone Booth Series

A sign on the wall by the phone booth says, in huge letters, ‘Who do you think you are?’ And for the rest of the film, Stu has no choice but to set upon a course of self-discovery. The voice on the other end seems to know all about his personal life and his myriad lies. He has watched him act without respect to all the people around him.

Judgement Day

During the call, the sniper tries to get Stu to realise that he is “guilty of inhumanity to (his) fellow man” and the “sin of spin – avoidance and deception”. He also explains that he has a high-powered rifle trained on the phone booth from one of the many buildings, and if Stu tries to leave it, he will be killed. His scope is so good that he could find Pam’s number from watching Stu dial it.

And to prove he is deadly serious, he shoots a bystander. Panic breaks out everywhere and the police quickly arrive, assuming that Stu is the killer. They try to force him to put the phone down and come out of the booth. Stu finds himself in a life-and-death struggle, while being forced to re-examine his life and his priorities.

The mystery caller is a self-proclaimed enforcer of morality, who is set on teaching his ‘immoral’ target at any cost. He also warns how he shot two other businessmen who had committed similar ‘sins’ to Stu and who had refused to repent.

This is an avenging angel who manages to stir Stu’s conscience, offering him the opportunity to repent from past mistakes and to start a new way of life. “You have a choice to make things right,” he tells him. The caller then takes Stu through three different phases – of judgement, confession and redemption.

First, he’s forced to acknowledge his wrong doings. The sniper calls several things into question in Stu’s life, such as his self-inflated image.

Stu genuinely believes himself to be at the centre of his world; nothing else matters to him. At first, he thinks the man might be a failed actor in need of his help, and he threatens him: “A lot of people know who I am... You won’t ever get work in this town again… I can turn people into gods and I can turn people into losers…”

The caller highlights his lack of respect for others, which has been clear from the film’s onset. It is also shown most dramatically in his dealings with a pizza deliveryman. Stu has become used to being able to pay people off with money. And as the voice reminds him, “Everyone has their price.”

Another aspect of Stu’s character the voice calls into question is his countless lies. As he later admits, Stu lies to everyone: to the people he works for or with; to his friends; to both Pamela and Kelly; and to his assistant, who he bribes with the empty promise of a pay-cheque he never intends to pay.

It is Stu’s inability to tell the truth that concerns the voice most: “Why don’t you try telling her the truth?” he asks. “You’re in this position because you’re not telling the truth.”

Phone Booth’s director, Joel Schumacher, has said of our society that ‘we accept lying and lying to the most important people in our life and that rules aren’t for us. We are showing the selfishness and decadence of this generation.’