The Night Listener - Der nächtliche Lauscher

All of the elements of a fabulous film are in place: amazing actors, interesting true story, decent budget and set. Somehow, this movie falls flat and is quite forgettable.

I attribute this to the director. I've never seen his other movies, so I cannot compare. The movie was predictable, opportunities for some really great suspenseful moments were missed...like missing ten free-throws in basketball - painfully annoying...this director shot, and missed...a lot.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the film...it just screams, "Help me! Find me a fabulous editor to fix what this director missed!" This is the sort of movie one watches on HBO while folding laundry (since it wasn't compelling enough to see in the theater), and considers it "okay", but certainly not worthy of ones full attention...glad the laundry is done!

I couldn't give this film a bad rating or bad review for two reasons: Robin Williams and Toni Collete. The film has the potential of being a thriller and there are some slight disturbing elements that lean to the psychological which was something the film could have focused a little on. Robin Williams plays Gabriel Noon, a storytelling night time deejay who is going through personal issues: his lover moves out and Gabriel is having what seems to be a case of storyteller's block. One day he receives and reads a story written by a dying 14-year old boy named Pete Boland (Rory Culkin). Pete tells the story of his life and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents. He lives with his adopted mother and social worker, Donna Boland (Toni Collette). Gabriel is fascinated and begins a friendship with Pete, but things seem strange when Gabriel attempts to meet him and discovers the possibility that Pete Boland may not even exist. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil the film, but I will tell you this: it is quite predictable. Fascinating atmosphere for telling a story and good performances from Robin Williams and Toni Collette, who I thought was the film's key character. Collette is without question one of the most talented and loveliest actresses. Her ability to tap into the psyche and personality of the characters she portrays is very uncanny and I hope to see her win an Oscar (hell, I think she might pull off getting a Best Supporting Actress nod for this one if the script were a little better). The film starts off as a psychological thriller, but a predictable one at that. If your curious to know the film's ending and twists, then see the film otherwise I would rent another predictable thriller called "Hide and Seek".

There are many illnesses born in the mind of man which have been given life in modern times. Constant vigilance or accrued information in the realm of Pyschosis, have kept psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists busy with enough work to last them decades. Occasionally, some of these mental phenomenon are discover by those with no knowledge of their remedy or even of their existence. That is the premise of the film entitled " The Night Listner." It tells the story of a popular radio host called Gabriel Noon (Robin Williams) who spends his evenings enthralling his audiences with vivid stories about Gay lifestyles. Perhaps its because his show is losing it's authentic veneer which causes Noon to admit he is no longer himself. Feeling abandoned by both his lover Jess (Bobby Cannavale) and his and best friend (Joe Morton), he seeks shelter in his deepening despair and isolation. It is here, a mysterious voice in the night asks him for help. Noon needs to feel useful and reaches out to the desperate voice which belongs to a 14 year old boy called Peter (Rory Culkin). In reading the boy's harrowing manuscript which depicts the early life and sexual abuse at the hands of his brutal parents, Noon is captivated and wants to help. However, things are not what they seem and Noon soon finds himself en-wrapped in an elusive and bizarre tale torn right out of a medical nightmare. This movie is pure Robin Williams and were it not for Toni Collette who plays Donna D. Logand, Sandra Oh as Anna and John Cullum as pop, this might be comical. Instead, this may prove to be one of William's more serious performances. ***

Like one of the previous commenters said, this had the foundations of a great movie but something happened on the way to delivery. Such a waste because Collette's performance was eerie and Williams was believable. I just kept waiting for it to get better. I don't think it was bad editing or needed another director, it could have just been the film. It came across as a Canadian movie, something like the first few seasons of X-Files. Not cheap, just hokey. Also, it needed a little more suspense. Something that makes you jump off your seat. The movie reached that moment then faded away; kind of like a false climax. I can see how being too suspenseful would have taken away from the "reality" of the story but I thought that part was reached when Gabriel was in the hospital looking for the boy. This movie needs to have a Director's cut that tries to fix these problems.

You know, Robin Williams, God bless him, is constantly shooting himself in the foot lately with all these dumb comedies he has done this decade (with perhaps the exception of "Death To Smoochy", which bombed when it came out but is now a cult classic). The dramas he has made lately have been fantastic, especially "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo". "The Night Listener", despite mediocre reviews and a quick DVD release, is among his best work, period.

This is a very chilling story, even though it doesn't include a serial killer or anyone that physically dangerous for that matter. The concept of the film is based on an actual case of fraud that still has yet to be officially confirmed. In high school, I read an autobiography by a child named Anthony Godby Johnson, who suffered horrific abuse and eventually contracted AIDS as a result. I was moved by the story until I read reports online that Johnson may not actually exist. When I saw this movie, the confused feelings that Robin Williams so brilliantly portrayed resurfaced in my mind.

Toni Collette probably gives her best dramatic performance too as the ultimately sociopathic "caretaker". Her role was a far cry from those she had in movies like "Little Miss Sunshine". There were even times she looked into the camera where I thought she was staring right at me. It takes a good actress to play that sort of role, and it's this understated (yet well reviewed) role that makes Toni Collette probably one of the best actresses of this generation not to have even been nominated for an Academy Award (as of 2008). It's incredible that there is at least one woman in this world who is like this, and it's scary too.

This is a good, dark film that I highly recommend. Be prepared to be unsettled, though, because this movie leaves you with a strange feeling at the end.