A unique and intriguing premise, unfortunately turned into a slow and unmemorable film. 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conclusion.The film tells the story of a gay writer/broadcaster, Gabrielle Noone, (Williams) who is given an unpublished book by a publicist.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.
The Night Listener A fantastic film with a twist at the end. Well worth watching and great acting (as usual) from Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
Don’t watch it alone 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.
A unique and intriguing premise, unfortunately turned into a slow and unmemorable film. 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.