The Night Listener

Patrick Stettner's The Night Listener (thriller, drama)
7.5 / 10

I struggled for a while trying to decide on a score for this movie, and I'm still not entirely sure if I've hit the mark. The Night Listener was definitely a good movie, but something about it made me feel it wasn't a great movie. Maybe I'll understand more as I go.

Yes, I talk about the plot, but I don't give anything away. Scout's honour.

Cast-wise, I don't think better actors could have been picked for these roles. Robin Williams, in one of his many "I swear I'm not just funny" films, plays Gabe Noone, a late-night radio show host. He tells stories about his life, often stretching the truth, and comes across a patch of writer's block. He is given a copy of a book written by a young boy named Pete, telling about the child's traumatic experiences at the hands of sexually abusive parents and friends. Pete is played by Rory Culkin -- yes, the younger brother of Macauley Culkin -- and does a damn fine job for a teenage actor. You may have seen the young lad in MNS's Signs.

Gabe starts talking to Pete on the phone after discovering that Pete has AIDS. Pete is his "biggest fan", and they develop a telephone friendship between Pete's visits to the hospital. Toni Collette plays Donna, Pete's adoptive mother. She plays Donna incredibly well, evoking the correct emotions from the audience at every point in the movie. Eventually, questions begin arising concerning Pete, as the book agent who provided Pete's story never actually met him, or his mother. Gabe's partner, Jess (played by the ever-charismatic Bobby Cannavale), begins doubting Donna and Pete's sincerity after the mother and son conveniently avoid meeting Gabe in person on a handful of occasions. Drama ensues.

Spoilery: One aspect of the movie that I particularly enjoyed involved the over-the-phone scenes with Pete and Donna. Because Gabe has no idea of what Donna looks like, she is portrayed as, presumably, what Gabe wants her to be. However, later in the movie, Gabe is confronted with the "real" Donna, and she isn't quite what he expected. Done spoiling.

The Night Listener title relates to the cinemetography, as well as the plot. Very many scenes took place at night, or in dark places, giving the movie a bit of a creepier feel than it would have in a bright, cheery, sun-filled environment. Plus, most of the daytime that the audience gets to see is cloudy and gray. Spooky! Or something.

For some reason, most reviews I've read of this movie focus on the fact that Robin Williams and Bobby Cannavale play -- gasp -- gay men. OH NOES. Okay, so maybe I'm more liberal than most reviewers, but I thought that it added depth to Gabe's relationship with Pete, since Bobby's character Jess was diagnosed with AIDS as well. We're told through dialogue that Gabe is the type to want to protect others, and that he did so with Jess; it's a nice touch to see him try to protect Pete. If there was any homosexual interaction between Gabe and Pete, I could understand reviewers pulling out their 'Marriage Is Sacred' signs and hopping around with their Bibles. But nope, it's platonic, and cute in a father-son way. Nice try, extremists.

Watch it. I have a copy, and you can borrow it. Seriously. It isn't scary, but it is creepy, and I like it.