In 2002, Joel Schumacher took us on a frenetic and intriguing journey with ‘Last Call’ (2002). The film’s plot follows Stu Shepard, played by Collin Farrell, an arrogant public relations executive trapped in a phone booth in the middle of New York. With a mysterious sniper on the prowl, Stu confronts his demons as he fights to survive. The film, marked by constant tension and a dizzying pace, keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat. The film is currently available in the Disney + catalog.
Despite achieving some recognition from the public thanks to the praise it received for its fast pace and performances, as well as for the good work of Joel Schumacher behind the cameras, ‘Last Call’ was completely reviled in the film awards circuit. internationally, not being nominated for a single award.
Technically, the most outstanding aspect is its striking direction, which, together with the claustrophobic and oppressive setting inside the telephone booth, makes the experience for the viewer live intensely. The use of sound effects and music contributes to the atmosphere of tension and suspense. Additionally, the choice to film the entire plot of the film in real time adds a sense of urgency and realism to the narrative.
The cast is led by the Irish actor Collin Farrellgiving life to the cocky Stu Shepard, but also includes the performances of some renowned actors and actresses such as Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker and Katie Holmes, who provide experience and craftsmanship with acceptable interpretations. Despite its modest success at the box office, ‘Last Call’ has gained cult status among lovers of thriller films for its ability to hold the viewer’s attention from beginning to end.
Fotogramas’ review of ‘Last Call’ stated that the film “is a malevolent, contradictory reproduction of the Buñuelian film ‘Simon of the Desert’. The column from which the would-be saint fought against temptations now becomes a telephone booth, a confessional/torture rack in which an anonymous sinner must confess before his peers and before himself, under penalty of death. A pessimistic, religious discourse, which Larry Cohen’s script takes to the terrain of a clockwork piece, of an urban precision mechanism, with that circular idea of beginning and end typical of every good Christian parable,” adding that “the visual tone of Joel Schumacher ends up drawing from other more contemporary sources (the multiple screen aesthetics of the series ’24’, from which he rescues his fetish actor, Kiefer Sutherland). AND contemporary is his merciless criticism of an isolated, deaf society of yuppies, adulterers, racists and hypocrites “They sink in the mud, unaware that no one, not even God, can save them from the Final Judgment.”
