Good old Kiefer Sutherland, there�s suitably trendy 24-style editing to this film which suits and improves the slick real-time aspect of the story. Stu is a PR shit admirably played by Colin Farrell, who brings exactly the right amount of mobile-wielding arrogance and weaselly nervousness to the role. In the first few satisfyingly nasty scenes, we Get The Hint: Stu isn�t a nice man. He wheels and deals, manipulates, cheats, postures, and is generally great fun to watch while he does it.
Stu�s troubles start when he answers a ringing phone booth, the very same one he regularly uses to set up adulterous dates. On the other end of the line is a sniper (Sutherland). Soon, Stu realizes that if he puts the phone down he�ll be shot, and he�s being held hostage because he�s a nasty man. Hooray!
Stu spends a while having his mind screwed over until he starts getting hassle from some local prostitutes, who want the use of phone booth, and the row escalates until the sniper finishes off their pimp. Suddenly it�s police cars everywhere, thinking Stu must have done it, and pointless power battles develop between a blatantly trigger-happy shit of a white chief and a gently intuitive black chief. Yawn yawn, if they wanted to employ some political correctness here it would have been much better spent on portraying the prostitutes as human beings rather than as gratuitously and uniformly stupid, inflammatory bitches.
For a single-scenario, almost real-time show there�s no doubt this film holds your attention. We are led to believe there are going to be some massive and shocking revelations, which don�t really materialize, but as a tension-building character study it�s interesting enough. Every permutation, possibility and chance that Stu might have for survival is weighed, tested, and kept on a knife edge. Suffice to say, Stu is taken down a peg or 20,000 and it�s great fun to watch. Definitely worth your money at the video shop, but pulls the odd punch. |
