The Night Listener Reviews

• Compelling, but it falls short

  
  By A1TWTULVD6F22O on 2006-08-06
  Sigh. I still have Maupin's novel "The Night Listener" on my nightstand. I understand from friends that it is (once again) more complex and easier to like than the new film. Maupin wrote the script with director Patrick Stettner and Terry Anderson, who was once Maupin's real life partner. The novel is semi-autobiographical, a story of love, loss and obsession that twists itself into a kind of psychological thriller.
  
  Still, I was more compelled by the deeper emotions than I was by the plot twists and dark moments.
  
  I try to see every movie that features Toni Collette. She's a consummate actress that isn't afraid to look ordinary, plain, kind of "horsy" when the role calls for it. In this film, as Donna, the social worker who adopted a young boy, Peter (Rory Culkin)to help him recover from a chilhood of abuse, pedophilia and sexual slavery, as well as AIDS, Collette is down right spooky. She's a little "off", but somehow we can't put our fingers on why. Peter's written a book about his so called childhood. As publishing editor Ashe (the always interesting Joe Morton) puts it, it was the cleanest manuscript he'd read that year, and so compelling that he gives it to author/public radio talk show host Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) to read and dissect before publication.
  
  Part of Ashe's strategy is to save Noone from himself. Noone is a national figure who brought his talk show (Noone at Night) to life by discussing his relationship with much younger, AIDS-stricken partner Jess (Bobby Cannavale). Throughout their 8 years together, while being applauded for his forthright style by the gay community, Noone has been feeding off his personal life, changing and tweaking details to make a better show. At the beginning of the film, we learn he's barely able to work anymore, because Jess has decided to leave him -- stronger and recovering from his illness, Jess has decided to live life on his own, with people who are more his age. Still, he cares for Gabriel and wants to continue the friendship. It is in the denouement of the relationship that Jess finally confesses that Gabe's laying out of their lives for all to see is what finally drove him away.
  
  Noone reads the book by young Peter and begins a long-distance relationship with him and his caretaker by phone. He's being brought back to life by his feelings of caring when both of the young friends in "real" life, Jess and assistant Anna (Sandra Oh) cause him to take stock of whether or not Peter's story is real. There's a startling similarity to Peter and Donna's voices on the phone, and there's little that Gabe can do when his visit to see Peter in Wisconsin at Christmas is cancelled because Peter is in the hospital. Noone expresses his concerns to Ashe and suddenly Rory's book is on the back burner.
  
  Tension heightens when Gabe decides to take a trip to rural Wisconsin to find out whether or not young Peter is who he says he is. The subsequent twists, turns and final peeling away of the truth in the movie are bizarre, have moments of discomfort, but no real shock or tension, as was found in the films of Hitchcock or "The Sixth Sense", which this film is being compared to. I must admit, however, that there is a moment of absolute terror for me when Gabe is a reluctant passenger in a car that turns off the road. The sounds of it continuing to travel are immediately recognizable to someone from Minnesota as the sounds a car makes when it is traveling over ice on a frozen lake. Now that is true fear.
  
  Robin Williams plays Gabe as a man uncomfortable with where his life has taken him. He's real, he's difficult, and he's a little hard to understand when he finally arrives in Wisconsin. His feelings for Jess are never far from the surface, but it is in his moments with Sandra Oh, that his likeability shines through.
  
  Collette, as mentioned before, is worth the price of admission. Once again, we find ourselves drawn to her, and her performance, almost by the sense of eeriness that she projects.
  
  Cannavale, Morton, and Oh are some of my favorites from television, and all sparkle here, especially in interaction with Williams. Lastly, young Rory Culkin, in his brief moments on screen, is hard not to like.
  
  I'm always surprised when a studio hands a film to a writer, as a director. (He's previously written and directed the forgettable "The Business of Strangers" in 2001, although in that film he also coaxed fine performances from Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles). Stettner is no exception to the rule that big dollars and actors/actresses might need a firmer hand. I am surprised that he was able to get the characterization on film and the performances flowing at this level; his cinematography was interesting, but script, the plotting and the sense of thrill and danger were very underdeveloped. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the final scene tacked on to show the audience where Donna has landed. The scene was almost dysfunctional; instead of leaving the viewer with a sense of dread, it left us wondering where and how she came into money.
  
  Worth a view, but most film-goers will prefer to wait for the DVD.
  
  

• In Search of a Friend Who May Not Exist

  
  By A3JPFWKS83R49V on 2007-01-31
  Night Listener is a movie based on the true story of Anthony Godby Johnson and stars Robin Williams and Toni Collette in the main roles. Williams' Gabriel character develops a phone relationship with a young boy named Pete but eventually becomes suspicious that his "friend" may not exist because no one has ever seen him. He doesn't want to accept this but he starts to wonder if it really is true. His suspicions are deepened with another person tells Gabriel that a psychological disorder exists that explains this type of behavior. Gabriel is bound and determined to find closure to this mystery and he sets off to Wisconsin in seek of the truth.
  
  This sounds like the buildup to a great thriller/suspense film but the fact of the matter is The Night Listener doesn't quite deliver the amount of pulse- pumping, heart- thumping suspense action its premise suggests. There are a few creepy scenes in the film and some surprises. But the creepiness and the shock value never quite approach the level of a great suspense thriller. This isn't to say that Night Listener doesn't have its moments because there are a few. Toni Collette is responsible for most of the film's best and most memorable moments. Her Donna character is a blind woman; a little unstable and a little weird. You don't know exactly what she might do next and she is responsible for the few moments of suspense present in this film.
  
  Besides the suspense, there is a deeper message to this movie and it is one that becomes more obvious as the movie drags on. It is a message of wanting to gain attention and feel the strong ties of a relationship. The lengths that some people will go to fulfill this need are varied from person to person. But you see it happening in this film. Gabriel is dumped by Jess so he ends up seeking the attention of Pete and won't stop his search until he knows for sure whether or not Pete really exists. Donna has such a need for relationship fulfillment that she makes up another person and plays the parts of him and herself.
  
  The Night Listener is a slow, quiet film that never quite reaches the all- out terror that many viewers will be looking for. The slowness and relative calm do add a certain degree of suspense because you keep expecting something big to take place. But nothing major ever happens. The film just keeps plodding along until it finally reaches the end in mostly dissatisfying way.
  
  Toni Collette is the standout in this movie and Robin Williams is also quite good. Collette looks quite different from the glamorous star we all know and love. She is a little on the tattered side in this movie and those glaring eyes of hers are befitting of the character she plays. Robin Williams is also very good and convincing in his role as a man who wants to find out the truth even if it means breaking into Donna's home and searching every hospital in the city for this person named Pete.
  
  Overall, Night Listener is an okay film that will probably appeal to only about half of those who watch it. I would rate it 2.5 stars if I could because while I like the premise of the film and the performances, I am disappointed that director Patrick Stettner didn't do more with such an interesting true story. I will round my rating to three stars and give it a minor recommendation. It is worth a look if you're a fan of Toni Collette or Robin Williams and it will take up only 91 minutes of your day, making it worthy of watching just once.
  
  
  

• The book doesn't adapt well to the screen. Good performance by Robin Williams though.

  
  By A17FLA8HQOFVIG on 2006-09-11
  About five years ago I read this book. I loved it. Armistead Maupin is a fine writer and I considered this book an intriguing journey of angst and self discovery. Naturally, I wanted to see the film.
  
  I sure was disappointed. The tone of suspense and creepiness that the book had was gone. Instead, all I felt was impatience as the film very slowly told the story of an aging late-night radio storyteller, played by Robin Williams, who is going through the end of a relationship. His live-in young gay lover who has AIDS has a new lease on life due to new medications and, after eight years of living together, is moving out. The actors play their parts well and I could feel the pain of this breakup.
  
  But then Williams gets a new lease on life. He is given an unpublished non-fiction book to review, and the story of a young boy with AIDS who had been sexually abused in his early childhood, is one that moves his heart. Soon, he is speaking by telephone with the young boy and his caretaker, a woman named Donna, played by Toni Collette. She is supposedly a social worker who has rescued the boy and is nursing him in her home in Wisconsin. However, there is something about the whole story that doesn't seem quite right.
  
  This causes Williams to travel to Wisconsin from his home in New York City. This is where the lines between reality and illusion become blurred. There are surprises here that play like a horror film. And yet, there are no real conclusions. This is what makes the story weak. I wanted it to be tied up all neatly and answers given. That didn't happen. And while I could accept this in a book because of the fine writing, I hated it in the film.
  
  And so, in spite of good acting, the screenplay just didn't work for me. I was bored most of the time and couldn't wait for it to end. And so, unless, like I was, you are a fan of the writer and are curious as to how this adaptation works, I cannot recommend this film.
  
  

• Robin Williams Turns In Bravura Performance In Creepy Role...

  
  By AJJ11F5MHN8K9 on 2006-08-15
  Not really a crowd pleaser -- The Night Listener. This Robin Williams vehicle was unwisely billed as a thriller; truth told, it's more a drama with elements of mystery. I'd say the people marketing the movie failed, because the movie tanked last weekend (small $3 million opening) despite playing in 1,300 theaters.
  
  If you're squeamish, you might skip this emotionally draining movie because of its subject matter. The plot involves the sexually exploited Pete Logand (Culkin), a fourteen year old boy whom was rescued from horrific family squalor only to be placed in a dilapidated Wisconsin farmhouse with a blind disabled foster mother.
  
  Gabriel (Williams) is a national radio host based in NYC, and Pete is a fan of Gabriel's talk program `Noone at Night.' When the precocious teen pens a book about sexual abuse -- and Gabriel's publishing friend lends the manuscript to Noone -- the boy and the man become telephone friends.
  
  Having explained the surface dynamics of the budding friendship between the two males, the moviegoer's discomfort is only amplified by the fact that Gabriel is portrayed as being openly gay. Wouldn't Gabriel's unspoken motivations make you uneasy, considering that his committed relationship with younger partner Jess (Cannavale) is concurrently falling apart?
  
  The fact that a fourteen year old boy could write an accomplished nuanced memoir -- `The Blacking Factory' -- about sex abuse brings up too many uncomfortable questions, so Gabriel, his publishing friend Ashe (Morton), and his bookkeeper Anna (Oh), start sharing personal concerns they're all enmeshed in a career-ending hoax.
  
  Logic tells them something is screwy because Pete places calls to Gabriel's home about his forthcoming book, and Pete's foster mother Donna (Collette), places calls to Gabriel concerning Pete's ill health -- supposedly he's developed AIDS -- but nobody at Gabriel's townhouse chats with the foster mother or damaged boy simultaneously.
  
  In any event, Gabriel questions Pete's existence and the possibility he's a fraud gnaws at him. Since he's a radio host, he's comfortable conversing with hundreds of anonymous callers every night. Are his call-in participants any more real than Pete? Maybe Pete is a better master manipulator than Gabriel is?
  
  Stettner is the director here, and he fashions a mesmerizing story around Gabriel's decision to verify the truth no matter what destruction it might visit on his personal life. When Donna and Pete's arranged visit to New York falls through (disconnected phone) Gabriel wings off to Milwaukee to locate them anyway.
  
  Toni Collette upstages Robin Williams twice here. First in the damp basement of that wrecked farmhouse where she juggles props (a ball of yarn, a fetching red sweater) with insults that'll stand your arm hair on end. The second time on a cold avenue -- that encounter involving a near fatal accident.
  
  Equally chilling is a scene where Gabriel has been captured by a burly local policeman -- after breaking into Donna's house after Pete supposedly dies in a hospital and Donna abruptly moves out of the farmhouse -- and is then driven out on a frozen lake, and attacked with a taser.
  
  Now that I've framed the premise, complimentary observations are due. First, that kaleidoscopic introduction is riveting. What's going on? We get just a glimpse. Second, charged tension floats between characters throughout; even in casual exchanges, like when Gabriel buys Playboy from a newsstand, or he argues with Gabriel Noone Sr. (Cullum).
  
  Even though The Night Listener doesn't seem to be pulling the audience it deserves; it's going to turn a healthy profit on home DVD since it only cost $4 million to film. It's got high production values, it's gorgeous to look at, and Robin Williams and Toni Collette both turn in bravely compelling performances.
  
  Rather than nitpick the misplaced fatherly concern (ill-advised transcontinental flight) that places Gabriel in mortal danger, viewers should simply entertain the idea that his voyage was purely selfless. It's only in that nuanced light that the adaptation of Armistead Maupin's The Night Listener succeeds. Nonetheless, Robin's work here should be considered Oscar-worthy.
  
  

• Lovers of Maupin - get this

  
  By A3G6EELJOWTJ3W on 2006-10-07
  Based on the theatrical release. THE NIGHT LISTENER is a psychological thriller based on the international bestselling novel by Armistead Maupin. The story revolves around a celebrated writer and popular late-night radio show host, Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), who develops an intense phone relationship with a young listener named Pete (Rory Culkin) and his adopted mother (Toni Collette) just as his own domestic life is undergoing drastic changes. When troubling questions arise regarding the boy's identity, it causes Gabriel's ordered existence to spin wildly out of control as he sets out on a harrowing journey to find the truth.
  
  This was an interesting movie. Almost like a heart warming film at first, only to become a much darker film. I wish the film went at a faster pace. But I am a fan of Maupin (the writer) from his Tales of the City. (This is not a gay film.) While not Oscar level, I liked it for a rainy afternoon.
  
  
• It could have been fabulous but missed the boat
  By A3OZPA2Y2SUYX5 on 2007-01-30
  I really wanted to love this film for a few reasons: (1) the very compelling premise (a radio storyteller in the midst of his own relationship troubles starts receiving calls from a young fan who is trying to publish a book about his childhood abuse, only to realize this "Petey" may not be who he claims to be, if he exists at all); (2) Robin Williams played a serious role which is so rare - it was wonderful to watch him play a gay man (in what I thought was an unstereotypical way) who was so emotionally raw; (3) Toni Collette was DYNAMITE in her role as the "boy's adoptive mother" (she should have been nominated for her role); and (4) it started off in such a way that I was constantly trying to figure out what was happening, which kept me on my toes, so to speak.
  
  However, somewhere along the line the movie missed the boat, and my above-mentioned reasons for wanting to love it were outweighed by the lack of fulfillment I had upon finishing the film. If I were a movie expert perhaps I would be better able to explain what exactly was missing from this film, but as a lay person I just felt like it didn't live up to its potential, despite the interesting plot and wonderful acting. The ending (I won't give anything away), while interesting, was completely predictable and didn't really make up for the fact that the viewer was "in the dark" for the first half of the film.
  
  I wouldn't recommend buying this movie (or even renting it), unless you are solely interested in Toni Colette's performance which was great.
  
  
• Dark & Low Key
  By A202FGBQHO5638 on 2007-03-25
  Armistead Maupin's novel, The Night Listener, was a departure from his usual light hearted looks at metrosexuals. The roman-a-clef was based on an episode in Maupin's own life that coincided with the break up of his relationship with Terry Anderson. During this period, Maupin became involved in a phone relationship with what he thought was a 14 year old boy who was dying of AID's & the boy's care-giver, Donna. Eventually doubts were raised about whether the boy actually existed or was Donna herself.
  
  The novel tells its story primarily through conversation, on the telephone & between Gabriel Noone (Maupin's alter-ego) & his ex, his publisher, and his personal assistant. This works in a novel, but can be hard to translate to a visual medium due to its lack of action. The film of The Night Listener does not succeed in crossing over, possibly due to the fact that Maupin & ex-partner Anderson wrote the screenplay. The film doesn't work in many places, mostly due to adhering too closely to the book.
  
  One of the biggest problems with the film is that it is dark. Not just emotionally dark, but filmed with so little light in many interior scenes that it is difficult to tell where the action is taking place. Although the film is supposed to be a `thriller of the heart', the darkness does nothing to add to a sense of tension.
  
  Another set of problems are related to the screenplay: first, that the initial build up of the relationship between Noone and the boy Pete isn't shown. The viewer sees 2 phone calls and immediately Noone becomes obsessed with Pete Logan. In this case the film would benefit from a more gradual arc. Secondly, the scene with Gabriel Noone & his father, played by Northern Exposure's John Collum. In the novel, Noone's relationship with his father is a subtext that partly explains his attachment to the boy Pete. In the film, the lone scene comes out of nowhere & goes nowhere. The few minutes spent on it would be better used in the early period of Noone's & Pete's phone conversations.
  
  In trying to create more of a standard thriller, Donna Logan has morphed from being a friendly, sensible, no-nonsense person whose conversations Noone enjoys into a blatantly disturbed woman in the film. It's a bit difficult to tell if the characterization was written this way for the screenplay or if Toni Collette made the choice to portray Donna as a twitchy nutcase. The ultimate blame lies with the director for allowing clichés to trump subtlety.
  
  But the biggest problem with The Night Listener is Robin Williams. As Gabriel Noone, he is literally in every scene of the film. Williams has turned down the level of his energy to such a degree that he appears to be sedated throughout the entire film. He mumbles his lines, sits in the dark looking depressed, and rarely holds either the attention or the sympathy of the viewer. Although in the throes of a break-up that was entirely unexpected, the viewers' sympathies lie with the ex-boyfriend. There is simply nothing lovable or particularly attractive about Gabriel Noone as embodied by Robin Williams. A flash of humor, a twinkle in the eye, a little energy, all would have gone a long way towards engaging the interest of the audience.
  
  So, does The Night Listener succeed on any level? No, not really. The book is hardly a classic, but the film is entirely disposable. The DVD offers no reason to purchase either; the extras are simply a "Behind the Scenes" discussing the actual events with Maupin & Anderson (Maupin displays a puckish presence that is more akin to Robin Williams than Williams' own impersonation) and 1 Deleted Scene. Considering the film itself is only 1 hour 20 minutes, there was certainly plenty of space available on the DVD for additional extras.
  
  
• Creepy but not quite committed. Collette is excellent.
  By A32XW50ILWOXNO on 2006-08-07
  In "The Night Listener," Robin Williams plays an overnight radio broadcaster named Gabriel Noone. Whenever he records his hourlong essays about living as a gay man in New York, with a lover dying of AIDS, is not so important as how his voice, low, knowing, kindly, matches the hour his show airs - at midnight, a full 12 hours after the political and sports wingnuts have stopped screeching, and just beyond the local programming. The witching hours typically belong to the resonant, never-ending beeps of off-the-air stations, science fiction freaks, certified political psychopaths, as seen in "Talk Radio," and soothing, hypnotizing guys like Noone.
  
  So what's disappointing about the movie is how eager director Patrick Stettner cuts away from the Gabriel's opening monologue to really kick the movie in motion. At 82 minutes, it's efficient, and refuses to tie up its clever premise. But it never quite sinks into its seat and establishes that world of this radio man. It's more of a thriller than the detailed character study it had within its grasp.
  
  Gabriel's quiet. Thoughtful. Trusting. Eloquent. Kind. Forceful. And beneath all of that, pretty angry at his mouthy, wealthy father and his boyfriend, who's moved out to get some space. Williams, in his low-key, deadpan manner, shades Gabriel with the type of creepiness such talented late-nighters have to keep insomniac scratching at the receivers of their clock radios. One of them is Pete, a 14-year-old sexual abuse victim dying of AIDS, who enjoys Gabriel's show. He's written a book, and one of Gabriel's editor friends (Joe Morton) gives it to him to read. The kid is a fan. He might like a telephone call.
  
  Gabriel calls, and finds himself taken Pete - and his social-worker guardian, Donna (Toni Collette). Gabriel would like to visit, but Pete's in and out of hospitals. His lungs could collapse. He can't visitors bringing viruses off airplane seats. But one afternoon Gabriel's ex (Bobby Cannavale) hears Pete and Donna.
  
  "I could be wrong," he says, "but it sounds like the same voice."
  
  Alexander Maupin co-adapts the screenplay from his novel, which itself is based on Maupin's involvement with a boy named Anthony Godby Johnson, who wrote a similar, uplifting memoir, attracting thousands to his cause, and is now been proven a hoax. "The Night Listener" does not really keep this card hidden very long, although, for awhile Gabriel is a willing participant - especially when Donna adds another twist to the tale. Rather, we're intrigued by the lengths to which this con artist will go, and the trouble Gabriel finds in trying to expose her.
  
  Collette hits an oddball homerun here. Donna's a spectacular, jagged-tooth femme fatale - a piece of work with panache - and doesn't she know it the last time she meets Gabriel. It's award-worthy for its ironic commentary on disability - because Donna's illness is a blind commitment to fakery, Collette blurs the line between what she knows to be faking and what is a lustful, undeniable compulsion taking over. There is a line in "Seven" from the deluded John Doe that makes sense here: "Nothing wrong with a man taking pleasure in his work." Donna does, obscenely so, despite the fact that she can't help herself.
  
  Shame that Gabriel, who possesses his own buried passions, is merely used as a Hitchcockian object of perversion in the final act. We sense he's capable on nearly anything - murder, certainly - given that stare, that greedy suck on a cigarette and insouciant exhalation. It could be that Maupin could not exorcise his demons in the novel because it flies so close to his real life. Sadly, the movie invest only halfway as well, never drawing the story out to the kind of conclusion it deserves, or a perverse play on it like Mark Romanek's "One-Hour Photo," which is not so different. "The Night Listener" is chilly and effective, but not quite driven to fully realize its potential. Donna gropes and stumbles her way to a cheap, undeserved victory.
  
  
  
• The Night Listener
  By AW99SBGWEXP0J on 2006-08-16
  Radio talk show host Gabriel Noone (Williams) reads an unpublished manuscript by 14-year old Pete Logand (Culkin), and begins a friendship by telephone with the boy. Pete was abused as a child, contracted AIDS, and is dying. Donna (Collette), his foster mom takes care of him all by herself in Wisconsin to avoid Pete's real parents. Gabriel himself is going through some tough times. His partner Jess (Cannavale) has just broken up with him. Gabriel and Pete for a close friendship, but one day, after hearing a voice message left my Pete and Donna, Jess wonders aloud why the two sound the same. Gabriel begins to wonder if he is the victim of a prank, and sets off to Wisconsin to investigate.
  
  "The Night Listener" is an interesting but slow-moving film. Unfortunately, its slowness drags it down pretty bad. Perhaps a better director could have ratcheted up the tension a little more, and made the movie a little less "talky". Williams and Collette do good jobs in their respective roles. For some reason, the very funny Williams does better in serious roles. This is no exception. This movie is not for everyone, but does have an interesting story to it. If you are not put off by slower moving films, this one might be for you.
  
  
  
• Maupin's Novel Depended on Mind Mysteries: The Camera Somehow Interferes
  By A328S9RN3U5M68 on 2007-01-11
  Armistead Maupin's novel THE NIGHT LISTENER is a terrifyingly disturbing examination of a disintegrating mind and the manner in which such a mind deals with needs and reality. It is a stunning work, one in which the reader is never quite sure where reality stops and delusions start. Though Maupin co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Terry Anderson and Director Patrick Stettner, some of the inherent magic of the story is lost in translation when the camera makes the novel visual.
  
  Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams in a fine, understated serious performance), a writer who reads the 'fiction of his life' on a late night talk show, is having a writer's block, due in part to his devastation of losing his AIDS ridden but stabilized lover Jess (Bobby Cannavale), having nursed him for years but now feeling discarded so that Jess can feel life again. A literary agent Ashe (Joe Morton) asks Gabriel to read a galley of a book written by a 14 year old boy Pete Logand ('Rory Culkin') who is describing his years of sexual abuse as a child and his current coping with AIDS in Wisconsin and is under the faster care of a social worker Donna (Toni Collette, once again proving there is no role she can't master!). Gabriel reads the book galley, and is fascinated by a story about a life that makes his own situation seem minor. He receives a call from Pete and subsequent calls from Donna and when he shares the story and events with Jess he is warned of a possible fraud. Does Pete really exist? It seems Gabriel needs to discover the truth and heads to Wisconsin where he meets the blind Donna but is unable to get in to see Pete. Where the story goes form there is important to leave unsaid, as the mystery must be kept intact for the individual viewer.
  
  Each of the cast turns in credible performances, not an easy feat when the line between illusion/delusion/reality is so tenuous. One character has been added - Anna (the always superb Sandra Oh) - and it is her analysis of the facts that holds much of the storyline together. The mood of the piece is perfectly captured by cinematographer Lisa Rinzler and music writer Peter Nashel. But credit director Patrick Stettner for pulling performances form Williams, Collette, Cannavale and Oh that represent some of their finest work on film. Grady Harp, January 07
  
  
  
• A Near Miss
  By AQQFI7YHMRL7S on 2007-01-28
  I am not the biggest Amistead Maupin fan. I enjoyed his first two Tales of the City books quite a bit, but the later entries in the series were just too surreal. After a while, I found his quirky characters and far-fetched situations more annoying than amusing, although I don't begrudge him his enormous following, or feel he doesn't deserve to be read. But I have not sought his fiction out since the third or fourth "City" book tried my patience over a dozen years ago.
  
  And so, I did not read the "semi-autobiographical" novel that this film was based on, but I figured that I had enough respect for Maupin and the creators and cast to expect that I would enjoy it anyway, so I plunked down the purchase price of the DVD. I then went home to relax into an evening of mystery and suspense.
  
  What a disappointment! For some reason, the usually competent Robin Williams just didn't convince me that he was a gay man, a writer or a radio celebrity. And although I found the character of Donna to be as creepy and weird as other reviewers have suggested, there wasn't a moment of genuine suspense (well, maybe one) in the whole film, and when it was over, I felt very definitely cheated. I don't doubt that there are some sick, twisted people out there who will pretty much do anything to stroke their own egos or grab some attention, but the villain in this piece was not particularly shocking, or for that matter, very interesting.
  
  Maybe I have just seen one too many films that were touted as "taut psychological thrillers". Maybe I have had my fill of suspense films with the word "Night" in the title. Maybe the old "two thumbs up" is a bit overused, since this is not the first film so labeled that seemed to offer mediocrity instead of excellence. Or maybe, as some others have suggested, the film lets out too many details too soon to leave much room for any real mystery. Who knows? The story did manage to keep my interest until the last five minutes or so, but when I discovered that there wasn't as much to it as I expected, and the ending held no real surprise at all, I decided it was a bigger waste of time than I ever could have anticipated from the mostly excellent reviews.
  
  Toni Collette and Joe Morton were outstanding as always, but shortly after I finished watching, I found I had practically forgotten the whole thing.
  
  
  
• Outstanding Performances Suffer From Poor Editing
  By A3MPWVNJ6XHHZJ on 2007-02-19
  Williams and Collette shine in this thriller, which was a wonderful read, but unfortunately does not translate well to film. The "scare" and "mystery" supposed to be propelling the film forward gets lost by way of a clumsy handling of muddled relationship issues--which, incidentally, are treated in a very PG like fashion and end up not compelling any sort of interest whatsover by the viewer. Ultimately this corresponding "subplot" just distracts us from the Hitchcock-type mood they're trying so hard to invoke. (Terry's character, in particular, is very much one dimensional. Like a cardboard cutout, rather than a real human being). The other irritating thing about this film is that in it's quest to be trendy, they've all but obliterated the requisite lighting, and scenes designed to be edgy end up being just plain grating on the nerves as you squint to make out the picture. Too bad for Robin and Toni--who are outstanding, by the way. Final verdict: A good rental but not a keeper.
  
  
• bad plot, bad script, not worth even renting
  By A3GA4EA08TOSHD on 2007-03-04
  This film wouldn't have survived the old Twilight Zone's selection process even for 30 minutes. Repetitive dreary score underlines this shabby short little attempt at drama, surely not much mystery involved, and as to "Thriller", we were plain thrilled when it was over, or was it? Willams is Williams but this baby must have not only been a cheapo to produce, but apparently they avoided the cost of a good director and screenwriter in the bargain. Robin's rehab bills must be piling up to take this kind of gig.
  
  Buy it? We wouldn't even recommend renting it!
  
  
• Hitchcock - I think not!
  By A10K5437EAW3UD on 2007-03-19
  Why this is touted as a thriller is beyond me. The movie is really about 2 things. The title character's being fooled by a woman (and it takes him years to figure it out) and his breakup with his boyfriend. There is no substance beyond that. There are no thrills. It is self-indulgent and tedious. It is an insult to the Hitchcock's memory to classify this film as similar to anything he ever did. His worst film (and he made some stinkers) is ten times better than this clinker. The only reason I kept watching was in the fond hope that somehow there would be a surprise or a revelation that wasn't self-evident to anyone with even a few functioning brain cells.
  Please, Mr. Williams, stick to comedy!
  
  
• Williams and Collette Star in Quiet, Effective Thriller
  By A3M2WW0PO34B94 on 2006-08-16
  Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), a respected author and host of a popular radio show, is taking his boyfriend Jess' (Bobby Cannavale) need `for a little space' poorly. After eight years of living with AIDS, Jess is getting stronger and needs to experience life on his own for a while and not provide material for Gabriel's radio essays. One day, Gabriel's publisher Ashe (Joe Morton) hands him a galley for a book they will soon be publishing; he wants Gabriel to read it and provide a blurb. He reluctantly reads the book and finds a powerful autobiography about a boy growing up with pedophile parents. He soon learns the boy, Toby (Rory Culkin) has been adopted by Donna (Toni Collette) and they now live in a rural Minnesota town, to protect him from his mother. Toby calls Gabriel and leaves a message and they begin a phone relationship. After talking to Donna, Gabriel feels he has two new friends. One day, Jess is at the house, helping Gabriel with a fuse, when Toby calls. Gabriel happily introduces them, bringing the two parts of his life together. After the call, Jess tells Gabriel that he thinks both Toby and Donna are the same person. Gabriel doesn't believe him but the seed of doubt has been planted. Can he accept this? He has a new cause in his life, giving him purpose. Can it be wrong? How can he prove Toby actually exists?
  
  "The Night Listener", directed by Patrick Stettner and based on a popular book by Armistead Maupin ("Tales of the City"), was inspired by events in Maupin's life. "Listener" is a very good, well-made psychological thriller.
  
  Stettner takes the time to introduce Gabriel and all of the people in his life before taking us on this strange journey with the writer. This is important because it makes us believe Gabriel is a real person and this makes the more fantastic parts of his journey seem more believable. Stettner slowly and deliberately introduces these elements, providing details to Noone's life, giving the film a slower pace than most would anticipate in a thriller. But it works. When Gabriel travels to Donna's home, we both see how Gabriel could become so engrossed in these people he has never met and we see his doubt. It is a nifty trick and it works very well.
  
  As Williams creates Gabriel, you may be amazed at how good he is. Williams turns in his most realistic, yet low key performance which is even more amazing when you consider his last film was the broad family comedy "RV". As Gabriel, he brings a quiet resign to the character. Years as a celebrity, community icon and living in New York have taken their toll. All of this, and his recent break-up, have beaten him down. He watches events quietly, staring at people, reacting to them, unable to suppress the sigh or the disappointment when everything is too much for him. At one point, Jess invites him to his Christmas party. Arriving at Jess' new apartment, Gabriel finds it packed with tons of young men and woman, music blaring. He doesn't have to say anything, but we instantly know this is not the type of environment he would feel comfortable in. It is also easy to see this is one of the reasons Jess needed some space. He never had the opportunity to have this sort of party when he was in a relationship with Gabriel. It is a very, very good performance.
  
  As Toby and Donna enter Gabriel's life, it seems entirely believable that Gabriel would latch onto them, make them a new project. They essentially become a new purpose for him and renew his vigor for life. Even though he has never met them, Gabriel latches onto Toby's statement about thinking about girls all the time and secretly sends his new young friend a copy of Playboy because he surmises it must be difficult to get that in rural Wisconsin. Toby becomes the little brother Gabriel never had.
  
  He also fully believes Donna's stories about Toby's background, his health and his frequent visits to the hospital. When Donna asks him to visit for Christmas, Gabriel readily accepts. He has become obsessed with his new `friends'. Yet, when Donna cancels, citing the doctors' advice that visitors would only excite Toby's condition, Jess becomes more skeptical, his attitude fueled by Gabriel's understanding nature. Because we get to know Gabriel, spending time with him, this behavior seems entirely believable.
  
  An early scene between Gabriel and Jess brilliantly establishes a key aspect of the story. During an argument, Jess asks Gabriel to recount a key moment in their lives. Gabriel remembers it in a more romantic way than it actually happened, adding many details to embellish his `writing'. Jess quickly corrects him. This makes it more difficult for us, because we can never fully tell if we are watching Gabriel's interpretation of events or something as it is actually happening. Are we watching what he wants to happen?
  
  When Gabriel ventures to Wisconsin, he finally tracks down Donna and is surprised to learn she is blind. As Donna, Toni Collette turns in another memorable performance and a performance that is about as different from her work in the recent "Little Miss Sunshine" as you can get. There are many layers to Donna and Gabriel spends a lot of time trying to figure her out. With every move, he only becomes all the more engrossed in the mystery.
  
  Toby sends a picture to Gabriel, which he keeps with him at all times. Yet, as his doubts arise, Gabriel keeps referring to the picture. Can he see Toby? Yes, Donna will take him to the airport the next day? But then they fight, so she says she will never take him to the hospital. Gabriel heads out, checking the hospitals himself. Yet, Donna manages to side step this as well. What is truly amazing about Collette's performance is that she manages to keep us in the dark as much as Gabriel. She manages to string Gabriel, and us, along as she keeps him away from him.
  
  As the story progresses and we realize the strangeness of her character, she makes it seem believable as well. The key to this is that she is fairly low-key and every time she acts strange, there seems to be a reason for her behavior. Yes, there are brief flashes of anger and occasional outbursts, but she is so intent on providing Gabriel with this persona, that she carefully portrays it, making it work.
  
  Bobby Cannavale is very good as Jess, Gabriel's former lover and project. He provides a nice counterpoint to Williams' older character, showing how their fairly typical relationship could go awry. Sandra Oh ("Sideways", TV's "Grey's Anatomy") has a brief role as Gabriel's friend and part time accountant, Anna. She provides a bit of help when he is trying to figure things out, providing him with the technical knowledge he lacks.
  
  As the film moves from New York to Wisconsin, Stettner manages to portray both without stereotypes, which is pretty impressive given the fact that he also manages to make the rural settings seem fairly foreign, mysterious and foreboding. As Gabriel decides to investigate whether Toby is real, he travels to Wisconsin and finds a barren, cold, desolate landscape, very unlike the New York he is familiar with. This new setting helps to remove Gabriel from his comfort zone, making the proceedings all the more surreal and unusual.
  
  "The Night Listener" is an effective thriller featuring two very good performances from Williams and Collette.
  
  
  
• great acting, bad billing
  By A1F2EYORWOZ3G1 on 2007-01-11
  Once again Hollywood has taken a good drama/mystery and billed it as a thriller. This story, which can be very difficult to display, has a very compelling story line to it which is mostly left out. It's like they took just a slice of life and left off the part that truly explains what happened to a pivotal character to behave the way she does.
  Toni Colette's character is by far the driving force in this story. And yet they don't delve deep enough to show what brought her to do what she is doing to Robin Williams' character.
  Although the real-life events that are behind this are probably there in some way, they didn't take the time to probe any further than that. There are reasons why people end up in the psychological realms that they do. And although they may not know why in this instance, they didn't try to suppose either.
  Bringing a story of this nature to view is difficult at best because most of the 'action' happens inside the character's head so I'm sure they had enough to do in adapting what they did. However, as Ms Collette's charater states in the film... your story has no ending.
  Indeed, it may not. But there should be an explanation.
  Kudo's to each and every one of the actors in this movie... they all played great. Exceptional performance by Ms Collette. She is by far a consummate actress as she always is in any movie she is in.
  I would say this film is worth a look for the acting alone. However, it is forgettable because they never 'tidied up' the story line.
  
  
• Interesting film
  By A1I7QGUDP043DG on 2007-01-22
  Inspired by a true story, this sad tale of an abused boy becoming phone friends with a gentle radio show host is heart breaking. When a publisher friend considers publishing the boy's book without having met the boy or checked out the story, William's character grows concerned. He decides to try to check the story out himself and finds he's getting the run around from the boy's adoptive mother. Is the boy and his story real, or is it a mentally disturbed woman's cruel hoax? The movie can get slow at times, but the acting definitely shows prowess and the versatility of Robyn Williams and the very talented Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding, Cosi, Little Miss Sunshine).
  
  Chrissy K. McVay - Author
  
  
• Disappointing
  By A3DTQWD4GTCKDZ on 2007-01-23
  I am a HUGE Armistead Maupin fan. I love "Tales of the City" and I really liked the book this movie was based on. However, a quirky novel was turned into an extremely dark movie. Many of the side stories in the book that alleviated the tension of the main story line were omitted. At only 82 minutes running time, they could have added more of the book to the movie. Also, while not a real "San Francisco" story like Tales, it was a mistake to relocate the action from San Francisco to New York City.
  
  
• A Mystery for Adults
  By A3PRO8DMH38Y6Y on 2007-01-26
  A brilliant book turned into a moody, mysterious, atmospheric film for adults only. The characters are well developed in surprisingly little time; the plot keeps you watching as the book kept the pages turning. The pacing, style, dialogue are all aimed at adults who think as they watch, so that they can fill in what, at first, seems to be missing (but isn't). This is not for those looking for action, neat plot tie-ups, or answers to everything life puts in our way. Positively not for the 12 - 25 year old set. Sit back, turn the lights way down low, turn off the cell phone, put the kids to bed, and watch! You won't regret it.
  
  
• Wanted to Like but Just Couldn't
  By A1C2P5HX5RLPAX on 2007-01-28
  The Night Listener is a dark (mild) suspense about a gay radio personality who develops a phone relationship with a sexually abused 14-year-old writer with AIDS and his foster mother. A series of circumstances cause him to begin doubting the existence of these two people and he begins investigating them to the point of becoming a stalker.
  
  It was a weird convoluted and confusing film; especially in the opening scenes where the boy and woman are shown on the other line. Once was enough and I'm glad I didn't pay to watch it at the theatre. It was one of those movies where we kept checking the time and hoped it would be over soon.
  
  
• A good movie that doesn't live up to its potential
  By A3KF4IP2MUS8QQ on 2007-05-13
  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.
  
  
• A BRILLIANT piece of filmmaking
  By A3FKGI0BLLNPIU on 2006-08-06
  This is one of the finest pieces of cinema I have seen in a LONG time. The brilliant actress Toni Collette adds yet one more remarkable role to her list; she is so different in every role she playst it is amazing. And to me, this is probably Robin Williams' FINEST portrayal I have seen him turn in. The script is very intelligent (all too rare nowdays) and certainly keeps one guessing; I now long to read the book by Armistead Maupin upon which it is based. A fine musical score, excellent direction, and photography; I can't think of anything in this film NOT to be impressed with. Highest recommendation.
  
  
• The Night Listener...
  By A2JXM2910HL9FY on 2006-08-06
  The Night Listener is a suspense thriller (kind of) that takes great influence from Alfred Hitchcock films, Vertigo being the most obvious, but unfortunately falls short of the mark, despite it's great potential.
  
  After finishing this one, I couldn't help but get the feeling that there was something missing from this movie, some sort of emotional connection between the audience and the characters on screen. Throughout the movie, I found that there had been too much character exposition into Gabriel Noone, the fact that he is having a bad break from his partner takes center stage for a good chunk of the film. Perhaps a little more subtlety would have provoked curiosity from the audience toward the Gabriel Noone character. As it is, the subplot is given too much weight and plot is given not enough. Robin Williams does the best with what's he's got though. Robin plays the middle-aged, writer's-blocked, broken-hearted radio-show host to almost perfection.
  
  The plot itself would've been much more interesting if it was given more attention. The question of one's existence who one has never met raises serious discomfort and chills throughout the movie, and at times the director almost reaches the level of suspense that Hitchcock was able to conjure. Things become unsettling when Noone gets into town, somewhat bringing to mind moments from Blue Velvet by David Lynch. The problem is though that there is never enough tension, and the suspense and creepiness doesn't go far enough.
  
  An alright movie with good potential to be a great movie, but unfortunately all the screen-time went into the wrong places, and so a suspense thriller is turned into a deama, when it was meant to be a suspense thriller.
  
  
• A Thinking Man's Thriller
  By AL8K3X94QK7YS on 2006-08-14
  "The Night Listener" is a contemplative, suspenseful little film that tells the story of writer and late-night radio host Gabriel Noone (a sublimely restrained Robin Williams), smarting from the recent break-up with his HIV+ partner Jess (the under appreciated Bobby Cannavale of TV's "Will & Grace" and "Third Watch" fame) and blocked creatively. Into his lap falls the manuscript of a harrowing memoir of child sexual abuse told through the eyes of 14-year-old Pete Logand, who just so happens to be Gabriel's biggest fan. Gabriel and Pete forge a long-distance friendship, with Pete's adoptive mother Donna (Toni Collette) running interference when Pete's nagging bouts of AIDS related pneumonia waylay their late night telephone chats. For Pete, Gabriel represents the idealistic father figure he never had; for Gabriel, Pete represents the opportunity to be the father he never had. When Jess suggests that Donna and Pete's voices sound oddly the same, Gabriel begins to question the boy's existence. After false hope of a Christmastime meeting that Donna cancels at the eleventh hour, Gabriel and Pete's shared editor (Joe Morton) gets wind of Gabriel's conspiracy theory; Pete is left without a publisher and Gabriel is left with a disconnected phone number. Obsessed with finding out the truth about Pete, Gabriel heads to the Logand's last known address in Wisconsin, where he eventually tracks down Donna and a psychological game of cat-and-mouse ensues.
  
  "The Night Listener" is one of those rare films that takes its weighty source material and boils it down to the bare essentials without losing its substance. Lisa Rinzler's cinematography captures the mood and feel of the story, from the cozy interiors of Gabriel's New York brownstone to the wintry desolation of Wisconsin's exteriors. Clocking in at a tight 82 minutes, director Patrick Stettner (who directed 2001's disturbing indie drama "The Business of Strangers") does a remarkable job bringing the screenplay, with whom he shares writing credit with Armistead Maupin and Maupin's real-life ex-partner Terry Anderson, to the big screen. And while the screenplay varies from Maupin's introspective novel to add a few scenes that translate better on screen, fans of the book will not be disappointed or let down by the variance. The film, while steeped in suspense, is character driven and never loses sight of the greater human dramas at its core. Williams, who shines when he is given low-key, thoughtful material instead of his usual comedic scenery-chewing fare, gives a superbly understated performance. He is aided by indie fave Sandra Oh ("Sideways" and TV's "Grey's Anatomy") who gives a delightfully sardonic supporting turn as his assistant and a brief but compelling performance by veteran character actor and Broadway star John Cullum as his father.
  
  This is one of those quality independent films one hopes won't be overlooked come awards season. It relies on the oft-disquieting humanity of its flawed characters to generate suspense and earn the psychological investment of the audience. Maupin, who wrote "The Night Listener" in 2000 long before the literary scandals of James Frey and JT LeRoy, was ahead of his time with this story of reality and fantasy and how easily those lines can blur if you're not listening.
  
  
  
• Great performances by the entire cast really elevates this movie
  By A1I2CZBRDHZGFN on 2007-01-10
  This story is based on the true encounter by the real author with a boy named Anthony Godby Johnson, and this boy's own writings, which turned out to be fictitious. I thought the movie was well done. Robin Williams really captures the sad man searching for someone to save, and Toni Collette, always wonderful in everything she does, is believable as the boys guardian. Gabriel Noone (Williams)is a radio personality that meets an abused boy through his yet unpublished writings. They develope a telephone relationship. As he is drawn deeper into the boys life, he wants to get to know him by more than just via the telephone. He goes to Wisconsin to meet him. It is here that things really get creepy, with social worker/adoptive mom Collette turning in an understated performance as a weirdo that'll really scare you. The ending leaves you wanting to know more, such as what really happened to the story. As it turns out, the story ends in this movie pretty much the same way as it did in real life, with alot of unanswered questions. Truth can be stranger than fiction after all.
  
  
• Why does it say "thriller" in the synopsis?
  By A21F32PIKDJZS9 on 2007-01-27
  I had high hopes for this movie. I thought, Robin Williams + Thriller = good movie. Everything about this movie falls short. It is NOT a thriller, for anyone even slightly intellegent it gives you way to much information and takes every last bit of thrill out of it. The acting is strange and the dialogue brought me disturbing close to thinking the writer must have been a pedefile. I do not recommend this movie for anyone.
  
  
• 3 1/2 stars - Great acting, compelling, but a little lacking in story.
  By A24OFOIWNQI4DG on 2007-01-27
  I enjoyed this film, especially Toni Collete and Robin William's acting skills. I was surprised, shocked, and thrilled, but after it was over, it was pretty easy to forget about. I think the story was a little too hollow to be turned into a feature film. Even though it's a short 81 minutes long, this probably would have made a better 40 minute short film. It is good, though... and reminded me a lot of another great personality disorder film; Psycho!
  
  
• Sadly, it just doesn't cut it
  By AW4MT9WP95TVD on 2007-02-07
  I love Maupin and I loved The Night Listener. When I heard that it was being made into a film, I was rather surprised but very curious to see how it would work. Unfortunately, the results are just fair. The cast (some of them surprising choices) acquit themselves quite well here and I have no quibbles with that. However some of the other choices are more unfortunate: the move to NY from SF, the Disneyfied core issues of Jess and Gabriel's relationship, and the extremely visible Toni Collette. Her performance (as is usual) is excellent, but her physical presence is too much there from the beginning and distracts from the mystery at the core of the story. The novel had a much more palpable sense of loneliness and desperation throughout that kept the readers' emotions much more on edge.
  
  A brave try, though.
  
  
• Everyone Needs a Good 'Listener'...
  By A3O8YT41TDXL0B on 2007-02-11
  An eerie tale of love, lies, and ultimate deception, "The Night Listener" is a completely absorbing, tight little thriller.
  
  New to DVD, it is based on true events like Armistead Maupin's 2000 novel of the same name, it boasts career-defining performances and a top-notch screenplay with the suspense the story warrants without sacrificing the heart and humanity that propels the plot.
  
  Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), is a New York radio personality who hosts the successful program "Noone at Night," but his personal life is in a shambles. After a ten-year relationship, his partner Jess (Bobby Cannavale), decides to move out, as his ill-health caused by HIV has taken a turn for the better, making him no longer dependent.
  
  Though he tries to hide his devastation, Noone's vulnerability comes to light when a book publisher hands him a copy of an autobiography by a young boy named Pete Logand (Rory Culkin).
  
  Detailing routine sexual and psychological abuse suffered at the hands of many adults, most shockingly his own parents, the novel deeply affects Noone, not only because Pete is dying of AIDS, but because listening to Noone's program is his only source of comfort.
  
  The duo soon becomes intimate after Noone phones him, sharing stories and observations for hours at a time, with Pete's caregiver Donna (Toni Collette), close at hand.
  
  However, when Jess listens to the voices of both Donna and Pete on Noone's answering machine, he is convinced that they are both the same person.
  
  Noone lashes out at him, but soon finds reason for suspicion with the help of Anna (Sandra Oh), and decides to pay an unexpected visit to their remote Wisconsin residence.
  
  What ensues is pure edge of the seat tension. Williams, who tends to apt for a cliched scruffy look whenever he does a serious role, is enrapturing.
  
  His portrayal of a man in pursuit of validating a likely fictional emotional bond is so moving that the bizarre actions Noone takes (breaking into a house, peeping into hospital rooms) are not entirely unfathomable.
  
  Still, the best reason to see "The Night Listener" is Collette, who is startlingly creepy yet alternately sympathetic as Donna, a troubled, mentally bankrupt figure who shifts personalities and personas in mere instants. That she did not receive an Oscar nomination can only be owed to the little attention the film received.
  
  The crux of "The Night Listener" is best summed by Noone as he is about to recount his experience to his listeners: "As a storyteller, I've spent years looting my life for fiction. Like a magpie, I tend to steal the shiny stuff and discard the rest."
  
  In the end, I'm not sure what really happened. But it is clear that Donna and I are more alike than not. Both of us afraid, not wanting to be alone, longing for a good listener."
  
  
  
• Not bad, intense...
  By AWG2O9C42XW5G on 2007-04-05
  this is a pretty good movie, it keeps you thinking. it a pretty good meystery. Robin williams is great.
  
  

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