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The Night Listener [DVD] [2006]
 
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The Night Listener [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Rory Culkin
2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.78 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

The Night Listener [DVD] [2006] + The Final Cut [DVD] + One Hour Photo [DVD] [2002]
Total RRP: £57.97
Price For All Three: £12.64

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  • This item: The Night Listener [DVD] [2006] DVD ~ Rory Culkin

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Final Cut [DVD] DVD ~ Robin Williams

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    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • One Hour Photo [DVD] [2002] DVD ~ Connie Nielsen|Robin Williams

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Night Listener [DVD] [2006]
78% buy the item featured on this page:
The Night Listener [DVD] [2006] 2.6 out of 5 stars (7)
£3.78
The Big White [DVD]
6% buy
The Big White [DVD] 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£2.98
One Hour Photo [DVD] [2002]
6% buy
One Hour Photo [DVD] [2002] 4.3 out of 5 stars (45)
£3.88
RV [DVD] [2006]
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Product details

  • Actors: Rory Culkin, Robin Williams, Bobby Cannavale, Joe Morton, Sandra Oh
  • Directors: Patrick Stettner
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Icon Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 16 Mar 2007
  • Run Time: 78 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000MX7YMM
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 34,714 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Synopsis

Inspired by a real-life experience of author Armistead Maupin (on whose book the film is based), THE NIGHT LISTENER is a dark drama that derives its strengths as much from the places it doesn't go as the places it does. Spare and tense, it tells the story of Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), a storyteller with a national late-night radio show. Gay and recovering from a break-up with his much younger lover, Jess (Bobby Cannavale), Gabriel is experiencing writer’s block. His life takes on a strange new wrinkle, though, when a literary agent (Joe Morton) passes on a manuscript he’s received from a young fan of Gabriel’s--an AIDS-stricken 14-year-old boy, Pete (Rory Culkin), who has written a detailed account of the prolonged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents and their friends. Gabriel develops a friendly phone relationship with the boy, but soon senses that something is unusual about Pete and his caretaker, Donna (Toni Collette), and ventures to Wisconsin to figure out exactly what’s going on.

With its pure and streamlined narrative, THE NIGHT LISTENER sidesteps the showy pitfalls that derail many modern thrillers. Fuelled by subdued performances from Williams, whose manic energy is all but invisible, and Collette, whose chameleon-like brilliance has never been more in evidence, the film has obvious echoes of Hitchcock, as well as strange parallels to 2005’s JT LeRoy literary scandal. Once Noone arrives in Wisconsin, an all-enveloping sense of unease starts in on a slow burn, and remote locations are used to great effect. Williams has a scene in a hospital that couldn’t be further from PATCH ADAMS, and by the quiet conclusion, you will be wondering if maybe you should be a little less trustful of strangers, especially if they’re big fans of your work.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
2.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
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
By Mr. D. Bell "Dan Bell" (Northampton, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
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
By Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
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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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A wasted opportunity
I'm very sorry to have to tell you Amazon readers that Night Listener is pretty much the dullest film I've ever seen. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Brendan O. Clarke

3.0 out of 5 stars slow
a very slow and very strange film not what i thought it would be, but it drew me in and i found that i had to keep watching to the end
Published 24 months ago by Suzanne Sparkes

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
Despite its apparent real life premise (author corresponds with writer of groundbreaking autobiography who may not exist), this film quickly descends into conventional... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2007 by Stephen Newton

2.0 out of 5 stars something of a let down
Some films sound great in theory, but are not so great in practise. A case in point would be Right At Your Door, which was a great premise but at best a so so film. Read more
Published on 5 May 2007 by Mr. Rwj Nixon

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