The film's over-leveraged plot imparts diminishing results as its predictable revelation arrives with an unsatisfying anticlimax.
The Night Listener (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:130
Fresh:52
Rotten:78
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: This psychological thriller compels by blurring the line between truth and fiction; unfortunately, the film itself gets muddled in a hazy account of Maupin's original novel.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some disquieting sexual content
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Aug 4, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $7,766,987
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... 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 breakup 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. Fueled 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. [More]
Starring: Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Bobby Cannavale, Joe Morton
Starring: Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Bobby Cannavale, Joe Morton, Rory Culkin, Sandra Oh, John Cullum
Director: Patrick Stettner
Director: Patrick Stettner
Screenwriter: Armistead Maupin, Terry Anderson, Patrick Stettner
Producer: Robert Kessel, Jeff Sharp, John N. Hart, Jill Footlick
Composer: Peter Nashel
Studio: Miramax Films
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Reviews for The Night Listener
The Night Listener shamelessly jerks its audence this way and that, until it arrives at its lacklustre anti-climactic conclusion.
Even at 82 minutes, the film seems padded out, spinning its wheels and generating no suspense once the central, easily answered question is introduced.
One of those films where it's easy to recognize something's going on and there's interesting intentions but it just never comes together.
The talents of Williams and Collette are wasted in this ultimately silly psychological thriller that aspires to explore the line dividing perception from reality,"
...effectively captures the essence of the novel without slavishly adhering to its every nuance...
A somber storyline, empty scares and a deceptive ending are not likely to spell box-office success.
A strange and creepy film about lonely people who are more than a little crazy.
...never got me involved enough with its main character or its supporting characters to make me feel one way or another about them or their predicaments.
This thriller about books, belief and betrayal covers topical terrain -- JT LeRoy and James Frey, anyone? -- but itself proves unbelievable.
While the film claims to be based on real-life events in the life of author Armistead Maupin, there are more than a couple of sequences that strain credibility, causing the audience to question its veracity.
The plot dawdles along, intrigue gives way to risible melodrama, and [director] Patrick Stettner fails to get to grips with the issues.
Robin Williams's face is permanently on its smiling-through-emotional-pain setting.
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