The Night Listener

The Night Listener ***

"The Night Listener" is a short, slow, and simple little thriller that really does make you think for a long while after you exit. In fact, its so slow that it makes you wonder what time it is every now and then, and its so short that once it's over, you wonder where the time actually went. It's another installment in the "Dark Thriller Robin Williams," and at times I can't even decide which I like better, this one, or the zany one.

Williams plays Gabriel Noone, a late night radio talk show host, who often likes to read the fiction stories that he wrote. This time he's telling his own story, which he calls The Night Listener. In the beginning, he ends up splitting up with his live in partner, Jess, and doesn't know what to do about it. Luckily for him, he recieves a manuscript of a book written by a fourteen year old boy who is dying of AIDS by the name of Pete Logand. Late at night, Noone begins to talk to this young boy, who regards him as some kind of a hero. He listens to his show every night, and sees it as a bit of relief from the horrible past that he's had. His parents raped and abused him in the basement of their home, and now he is in hiding with his foster mother, Donna Logand. Noone and Logand become very good friends over time, and even begins to send little gifts to him, including a signed baseball bat by Derek Jeter, and a Playboy magazine. He even gets invited to Wisconsin for Christmas, until the trip is suddenly cancelled at the last minute. Noone tries to get in touch with Pete again, but the phone is disconnected. Things don't improve until Jess makes an observation that Pete and Donna sound exactly like the same person on the phone, one with a higher voice tone than the other. Gabriel begins to get confused deciding what to believe, and he decides to take a trip down to Wisconsin to figure some things out.

I'll admit, it's not a perfect film, but for what it was, and in it's short 80 minute running time, director Patrick Settner gets you involved in his film. I was always wondering what would happen, as the picture slowly makes its twists and turns. It's not a long journey, and it's not one filled with closure, but it's enough to keep you talking about it. Williams is good here, but the true star is Toni Collette, who shines in every scene she's in. There's a scene between her and Willaims that goes on for about ten minute, just them talking and walking around a house, and the entire time you're eyes are glued to the screen, watching them interact with one another. I was glad by the fact that Gabriel was gay wasn't focused upon very much. In a lesser movie, it would have been a bigger deal than it really is, but it's who Gabriel is. We have to quietly accept that from the start. I would have dumped out Sandra Oh, who is always wonderufl, but lately, between this and "Hard Candy," reduced to three minute little scenes for the entire thing, and billed heavier than she should be. She's coasting through this bout in her career, I suppose.

The film claims to be based on a true story, which I can easily believe. There are some crazy people in the world. I accept this beign a ture story more than "Peaceful Warrior" which had a sixty year old man jump fourteen feet into the air. I can't really believe that. Lastly, the music here is so incredibly wonderful and beautiful. Just listening to the melody during certain scenes will have you floating in the air. In the end, no much is really solved, and it remains one of the biggest unsolved cases that I could think of, but it's thought provoking, and very good filmmaking. This is one that'll slip under the rader, I'm sure.