Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A unique and intriguing premise, unfortunately turned into a slow and unmemorable film. , 21 May 2007
The night listener starts out promisingly but ultimate just leads to a disappointing conclusion.
The film tells the story of a gay writer/broadcaster, Gabrielle Noone, (Williams) who is given an unpublished book by a publicist. It is written by a 14 year old who says he is a big fan of Noones. The book tells of a traumatic upbringing which has lead to him contracting AIDS and the boy does not appear to have long to live. He is cared for a lady (Collette) who speaks to Williams frequently on the phone but everything may not be as it seems. When Williams' boyfriend suggests that the boy, and the carer voice, sounds the same, Williams embarks on a journey to uncover the truth and see the boy for himself.
The film starts off with an interesting and intriguing opening but quickly runs out of ideas and becomes a very pedestrian paced and ordinary thriller. With such a unique story there are just no memorable scenes in the film. Whilst all the actors involved are very good, they have nowhere near enough to do. Also, the film is strangely short. A lot of films of this type are too long and over indulgent. This on the other hand seems to have had huge chunks removed as its run time is only about 75 mins. This ultimately might be a blessing in disguise though.
Overall this is a hugely disappointing film. What could have been an interesting and genuinely unsettling film ends up being a very average one. It ends up as a film which you will have forgotten you ever watched as soon as the credits are over.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't watch it alone, 28 Jul 2007
Have I been in outer space for a while, or was this tight little film just under-reviewed? I'd never heard of it, and picked it out on a whim with no clue what to expect. I'm not exactly president of the Robin Williams' fan club, and knowing that Armistead `Tales of the City' Maupin had written the source novel I kind of expected some heart-warming melting pot story with guys in chaps and moustaches... But nothing could be further from the truth, I'm happy to say. Foregoing his usual hamming, Williams barely seems to be acting at all here. As Gabriel Noone he's a middle-aged writer and radio star, desperately lonely after his long-time boyfriend walks out on him. Along comes child abuse survivor, Pete, to fill the void - a teenager wise beyond his years and author of a shocking exposé, `The Blacking Factory'. A tentative father/son relationship begins to develop. But, needless to say, all is not what it seems.
Don't be expecting The Sixth Sense. Yes, Toni Colette's in this as well (she's fantastic as Pete's 'new mom'). But if you go to the Night Listener waiting to `guess the twist' you'll be sorely disappointed. It's not about that. In fact, quite the opposite - it pretty much wears the `twist' on its sleeve for most of the film, and therein lies the beauty. It's not about `what', or `who' - it's `why' that matters. Whether it's the tight camera angles or the muted colour schemes or some other directorial trick of the trade, there's just something indefinably creepy about this film. It's a mood piece, big on atmosphere, that manages to say plenty about the human condition without a split second of sentimentality.
One quibble, though - it's over too quickly. At roughly 80 minutes, I'm guessing this is a cut version. The book - which I've just started reading - makes quite a feature of Pete and Gabriel's phone conversations, and losing so much of that from the film takes meat off the bones and leaves it feeling just the tiniest bit insubstantial.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good movie that doesn't live up to its potential, 13 May 2007
I have to admit I was a little disappointed by this movie. I was expecting a tense, psychological thriller (Robin Williams has more than proved his ability to deliver along these lines before), but for whatever reason The Night Listener never truly captured my imagination. I must disagree with those who designate the film as a horror movie - it's not scary, it's only marginally suspenseful, and its twists and turns don't really have any oomph to them. In my opinion, it's a bit of a reach to even refer to The Night Listener as a psychological thriller.
Robin Williams plays Gabriel Noone, a writer/radio personality who develops a friendship with a mysterious young man in Wisconsin. It starts with a publishing friend giving him an advance copy of a book the young man has written - it's a harrowing tale about a childhood full of sexual abuse. Now, at 14, young Pete Logand is living with the social worker who helped save him and facing a terminal fight against AIDS. Gabriel soon begins talking to the boy and his caregiver on a daily basis. It's a vulnerable time in his life, as Jess (Bobby Cannavale), his male companion of the past eight years, has moved out, espousing the need for some space of his own. As it happens, though, Jess is actually the first person to express doubts about Pete's story. Gabriel rejects the very idea out of hand, but developments ultimately lead him to ask his own questions about Pete and his caregiver Donna (Tini Collette). Intent to get to the bottom of everything, he flies to Wisconsin to see Pete and Donna for himself. What he finds there, though, are more questions than answers.
Frankly, I never really cared whether Pete existed or not. Robin Williams is good in the role of Gabriel, but I never connected with his character emotionally. Without that connection, the suspenseful scenes just weren't that suspenseful. Additionally, there's never really a climactic moment in the entire story. All of our questions are answered by the very end, but those answers are presented in a somewhat clinical fashion. My ultimate judgment is that The Night Listener is a good movie, but I just don't think it's capable of generating a lot of water cooler conversation.
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