Teaching, the art of how not to kidnap and cellphones

The two films might make a fine bicoastal telephonic double feature. Phone Booth, unfolding on a tense day in Times Square, is in part about the paranoia and the itchy intimacy that springs up in New York's crowded, hectic urban environment. Cellular, like Michael Mann's Collateral, is set against the familiar randomness and anomie of the Los Angeles freeway system, but it also has an easygoing, balmy vibe. Ryan's laid-back, lazy friendliness turns out to be the basis of his heroism. When he receives Jessica's call, he really has nothing better to do than help her, and he retains his goofy sense of adventure longer than prudence would dictate. He's having too good a time to take the danger he faces too seriously, and Cellular makes it easy to follow his example.