'Phonebooth' Indipendant Thriller Research - First draft

'Phonebooth' Thriller Research

Director - Joel Schumacher

Release Date - 18th April 2003

User Comments - 'claustrophobic thriller', 'genuinely atmospheric'.

User Rating - Females: 7.2% Males: 7.3%

'Phonebooth' opens with a sound-bridge of barber shop quartet, this suggests naivety and that Stu Shepard's character is in his own little world, and hasn't quite got to grips with the physical and emotion blackmail and danger that awaits him. The title 'Phonebooth' appears with a thin, robotic font; this suggests the numbers on a phone keypad, or perhaps the wires of a phone. In the background of the opening credits, there are clouds; this implies a dream-like quality, again reinforcing Shepard's ignorance, and also implying heaven, and his fate. The clouds fade away, and a sky appears, scattered with stars - this may be suggesting Stu's shattered emotions, and maybe body later on in the film. Obviously this shot is dark and uses noir lighting, and connotes being cold and lost. A telephone satellite zooms in which denotes the plot of the films, and also shows how insignificant one little phone call is.

The next shot is of the satellite, the camera has an extreme close up of it, that it physically turns into a different object. However, I think that this shot is significant because the hexagonal shapes imply looking at the world through a flies eyes, which again reiterates the insignificance of the phone call in the grand scheme of things.

As the first mise-en-scene appears there is a gang of boys in their early twenties, this is the first thriller convention. The camera zooms out and shows the audience the busy, rush hour time of New York. This gives the viewers the idea of one person in a metropolis. The tall buildings in the below shot give the audience the impression that anybody could be watching down on you and you would have no idea. There are many advertising billboards, that use neon lighting, and general electrical use, this reinforces the technological world.

The sound-bridge song that is playing which is a bouncy, friendly song becomes darker as the bass increases, this is the second signifier of 'Phonebooth' being a thriller. The diagetic sound of a phone ringing appears which gives a sense of ambiguity. The close-up below is of dealing of some sort, most probably drug dealing, this is where the true grime, and crime of New York starts to be uncovered.


The mise-en-scene below is full of people on their phones; after all it is an everyday, common thing to do - that is what makes it so scary, as all Shepard does is pick up a ringing phone. The below shot shows the diversity of the population of New York, however most people in the opening five minutes are mostly black middle aged men.


The low-angle shot below makes the characters in the mise-en-scene seem ignorant to what could be happening around them, and the unseen danger surrounding them. The people are just living their normal lives, and this reinforces the fear factor as soon as Shepard begins to receive death threats, as people are not used to such crimes in everyday life. The tall buildings towering over the actors again suggests that there are bigger, and much more powerful people out there that they are unaware of.

The reason that I implemented the shot below was because it illustrates a typical thriller convention of a claustrophobic space, as all of the youths are crowded around the break dancer who takes up most of the shot. This shot connotes entrapment, and not being able to move. It also implies being controlled, and being inferior to somebody.


The next shot displays something that I have seen in thriller movies before. 'Welcome to...' Directors use it for the irony, because actually you don't get a warm welcome, it is usually a grimy, urban area. The use of the gun on the t-shirt also reflects the irony of the text, however it also gives the impression that New York is corrupt and that shooting somebody, or carrying a gun is just a normal thing to do, however in our society and culture carrying a gun is a crime, let alone shooting someone.

Shortly after the above shot is seen, a non-diagetic voice-over appears, with a deep voice; however not a voice to be scared of, but a voice that you don't want to question. The voice-over is the first piece of speech in the first five minutes. The voice-over says "theres an estimated eight million people in the five boroughs of New York' - again this is stating the sheer size of New York, and significance is represented. There is then a panning shot, and the camera spins around really fast, this connotes being dizzy, feeling uncomfortable, and it is a over-whelming sensation. The shot below illustrates the spinning camera I just mentioned. Small squares with people on their phones appears, again showing the amount of people have phones.


The voice-over says that the phonebooth has been burglarised many times, and due to that, it is going to be replaced at 8am the next day, this creates a sense of urgency, and rush; another thriller convention. The shot below opens up on Stu Shepard as he is introduced by the voice over. It reminds me of cartoons and how they open up, perhaps that is suggesting that Shepard is naive, and like many others in the first five miniutes is ignorant.




In conclusion, 'Phonebooth' illustrates many thriller conventions, such as claustrophobic spaces, gangs, eery music, and general lighting, and camera use.