The Listeners

Some lovely outfits. Everything is a close up to magnify the main actresses' beauty. Can't say much more really.i wanted to like it but found the acting irritating let alone the characters. Puts you off yoga, humous, flat white's and vintage dresses. I'm on the last episode now and writing this review with one eye on the telly and one on my phone, just goes to show how some dramas can be spellbinding and then there's this one which concentrates neurotic people. I've started watching The Long Shadow. I'm really enjoying it and it ticks all of my boxes. This drama is mainly about crying and hyperventilating x.

This series is beautifully shot and deserves your full attention. It's neither obvious nor linear and it's not sexual or sordid. The people criticising this show are no different to the characters doubting Claire in the story. Is it perfect or life-changing? Maybe not, but it's absolutely fascinating and the cinematography is absolutely stunning. From the title card to the abstract sequences, it's a thriller with a very subtle supernatural undertone. If you enjoyed The Leftovers or The OA this one is for you. There's a lot to chew on and it's worth a rewatch as well. It'll go down as a cult classic.

While there's nothing particularly deep here, there are some strong and very measured performances. It did make me think about things as I was watching it and it certainly wasn't predictable. The conclusion was also reasonably satisfying.

Rebecca Hall was very believable as Claire. I also particularly liked the performance of Amr Waked as Omar.

Without giving any spoilers, I think it is possible to say this is "about" people who are suffering (hearing the "hum" that most cannot) and trying to find someone who can help them. It strikes me it is also "about" the way the brain can construct both helpful and unhelpful explanations.

Well worth a watch, so long as you're not looking for anything deep and meaningful. (I enjoyed this enough to binge watch it last night.)

Short series about a woman who starts hearing a sound no one else around her appears to be able to hear, and how it deeply affects her public and personal life - shifting her allegiances and tearing holes in her reality.

Rebecca Hall puts in a great performance, and there are some nice details, too - both in cinematography and not least the sound design.

I was mainly drawn to The Listeners by its title and theme, and while the storyline doesn't always evolve in a pleasant way, I did find it interesting in relation to subjective experiences of life and the impact they can have on our relationships to others - both in terms of closeness and alienation.

The eerie aspect is to do with the fact that hearing is subjective - no one essentially experiences the world in the same way - and how this opens up questions around empathy, trust, understanding, support, exploitation, and mental health.

English teacher Claire starts to hear a humming noise, a sound that nobody else can hear. The hum starts to affect her life, she finds some comfort when a student, Kyle, also hears the same noise, the pair explore the noise, and are drawn to a group.

I've heaped praise on the drama output of both ITV and The BBC during 2024, both organisations have put out some wonderful content. This however, this is the low point, a total dud.

Excruciatingly slow to start, it should have been half the running time, the only time the series offers anything, is in the third episode, which I enjoyed. Episode four is truly one of the most painfully, terrible things I've ever watched, there are no words for how awful it is.

We get such a feeble explanation, we don't even get to glimpse the sound, we should have been given the hum very early on, it made it impossible to empathise with Claire. There's weird, and then there's plain old incomprehensible, and this I'm afraid is that, it leaves the viewer cold.

It's diversity on steroids, as you'd expect, The BBC's world view on things continues to patronise.

Some decent performances however, Amr Waked stands out, the guy has some real presence.

Avoid.

4/10.