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The film tells the story of a gay writer/broadcaster, Gabrielle Noone, (Williams) who is given an unpublished book by a publicist.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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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slow-Paced But Always Entertaining, 25 May 2007
The cliche term 'pulse-pounding' is used far too much in description of modern day thriller motion pictures. Were it used to describe 2006's "The Night Listener", the aforementioned term would retain its hyperbolic state. This Robin Williams vehicle isn't at all what could be considered fast-paced or entertaining in the way most pictures of its kind are. However, what this interesting thriller does is consistently keep the audience enthralled, intrigued and interested from beginning to end. Expertly directed by Patrick Stettner, "The Night Listener" finds strength moreso in the talent involved ahead of and behind the camera than it does in any innovavite scripting. Over-analyse what's on offer and you're likely to dismiss the picture on the basis that there aren't any real surprises to be had. However, such dismission would be narrow-minded and, most of all, flat-out wrong. "The Night Listener" may seem an open-and-shut case but its far from conventional film-making and its never less than great.
Homosexual radio show host Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) finds his relationship with boyfriend Jess (Bobby Cannavale) crumbling before him. In the midst of said failing relationship he receives a book written by a fourteen-year-old boy named Pete D. Logand (Rory Culkin). Abused as a child, Pete's book opens the window into his shattered life and convinces Gabriel to contact Pete. However, when Jess claims to Gabriel that Pete's voice is the same as his alleged carer Donna's (Toni Collette) Gabriel becomes confused and suspicious. Thus, he sets out on a quest to find out the truth about the mysterious boy who no-one seems to have actually seen in the flesh except for Donna, who puts obstacles in Gabriel's way as he attempt to discover the truth.
Robin Williams has shown his ability to steer away from his comic roots with previous efforts, such as 2002's "One Hour Photo". This time portraying the desperate protagonist worried that someone's making a fool out of him, Williams' performance is convincing, truly making the audience believe his character's plight. Toni Collette is a fine actress and her role in "The Night Listener" is perhaps one of her most challenging to date. Potentially a liar and potentially truthful, Donna's true motivations aren't revealed until late in proceedings. Up until that point Collette's mysterious performance is the preferred counter-piece to Williams' protagonist performance. Rory Culkin isn't given much to work with, essentially he features prominently early on in proceedings before all-but dropping out for the remainder of the motion picture.
"The Night Listener" doesn't shy away from questionable plot elements. When Williams' Gabriel breaks into Donna's house and is prompty apprehended by a police officer, he isn't taken straight to the police station. Apparently believing his suspect to have been one of the parents that abused Pete, despite being another that hasn't actually seen Pete in the flesh, the officer takes Gabriel to an open field and proceeds to use a taser device on him. In other hands that specific scene could have been ludicrous and laughable. Thanks to clever scripting and self-aware direction, though, the scene restrains from being as such.
Going into "The Night Listener" and expecting something different to the majority of thematic offerings, you shall not be disappointed. Expecting something unrealistically spontaneous, you'll likely be disappointed. There's barely a moment to spare with "The Night Listener"'s eighty-minute collective running-time but never does the movie feel rushed. Instead, lack of innovation is made up for by taut cleverness by everybody involved. If the conclusion doesn't surprise you than it hasn't failed, because "The Night Listener" doesn't pretend that things are going to end in a way that no-one expects. Whether or not Pete exists is the question, by the end "The Night Listener" gives us a somewhat clear idea. And it's well worth it.
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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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