Review: 'Cellular' a good connection
A fine popcorn film that moves right along
By Paul Clinton
For CNN.com
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- With the passing of Labor Day weekend, the really big movies -- featuring household names, gigantic budgets and baring the burden of Oscar hopes and pretensions -- are just around the corner. But now it's the perfect time for a popcorn chomping action/thriller to squeeze into the last lazy, hazy days of summer.
And "Cellular," directed by former stuntman David R. Ellis, is such a movie.
Starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans and William H. Macy, "Cellular" takes place in the laid-back, fairly privileged world of West L.A., where for many people a bad surf day or your favorite manicurist being on vacation qualifies as major crises. But Jessica Martin (Basinger) has bigger problems.
Shortly after dropping her young son off at his school bus stop, five men smash through her kitchen door, gun down her housekeeper and kidnap her, all in the matter of seconds. She's transported to an empty, dusty attic in an unknown location. Before she can even catch her breath, one of the men bangs into the room with a baseball bat and smashes one of the few objects in the room, a wall phone. Satisfied that she is now totally cut off from the outside world, he leaves.
Jessica is not only scared out of her mind, she cannot think of a single reason why anyone would want to kidnap her. Her only clue is a reference to some kind of information involving her husband -- who works in real estate -- and she is being used as bait to make him cooperate.
Good connection
Now alone and terrified, Jessica hears a faint dial tone coming from the bits and pieces of the shattered phone, starts randomly attaching wires together, and -- of course -- is connected to a cell phone owned by Ryan (Evans), a poster boy for California beach living. He mocks her pleas for help at first, but he reluctantly agrees to go to the closest police station and hand over the phone to anyone wearing a uniform.
 William H. Macy is a police officer and Chris Evans is the man who received Basinger's call in "Cellular." |  |
On the way -- while their conversation continues -- it dawns on Ryan that Jessica is really in danger and telling the truth. Now drawn into the drama, he arrives at a police station and confronts an officer named Mooney (Macy). Mooney is counting down the days to his retirement and absent-mindedly passes Ryan off to another department. Only later does he realize that Ryan is involved in a life or death situation, and throws himself into the case.
That's the basic set-up for this well-crafted story, created by screenwriter Larry Cohen, who also brought us another film involving telephones, "Phone Booth." Cohen left the actual screenwriting to newcomer Chris Morgan.
The drama, "Speed"-like, occurs during a tight time frame -- just a few hours. But one of the film's nice devices is having the two central characters never knowing or even seeing each other. (In fact, actors Basinger and Evans made it a point to never meet face-to-face until the very end of filming.) That idea pays off since there really is a feeling of anonymity between the characters that grows into a deep connection by the film's climax.
Sharp acting
They two characters build a unique bond of trust -- and create their own private world -- by being connected only through their fragile link. But the true beauty of this film is how the dramatic tension builds to almost unbearable levels, only to be snapped by a bit of humor, and then over and over takes up once again.
Ryan grows from an apathetic slacker into a quick thinking man of action, and Jessica transforms from a high school science teacher, and wife and mother, into a courageous person who refuses to be a victim.
Basinger once again proves why she won an Oscar ("L.A. Confidential") and Evans is not only suitably handsome, he also displays real acting chops. As always, Macy takes what could be an average everyday role and turns it into a tour-de-force.
"Cellular" will unlikely win any major awards or rock your world, but it's a fun ride and well worth the trip to your local cineplex.
"Cellular" opens nationwide on Friday and is rated PG-13.
