The Night Listener (2006)

In the midst of his crumbling relationship, a radio show host begins speaking to his biggest fan, a young boy, via the telephone. But when questions about the boy's identity come up, the host's life is thrown into chaos.

Director:

Patrick Stettner

Writers:

Armistead Maupin (screenplay), Terry Anderson (screenplay)

Stars:

Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Rory Culkin

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toni Collette	...	Donna D. Logand
Robin Williams	...	Gabriel Noone
Joe Morton	...	Ashe
Bobby Cannavale	...	Jess
Rory Culkin	...	Pete D. Logand
Sandra Oh	...	Anna
Rodrigo Lopresti	...	Young Man at Party
John Cullum	...	Pap Noone
Lisa Emery	...	Darlie Noone
Guenia Lemos	...	Female Neighbor
Marcia Haufrecht	...	Pant Suited Woman (as Marcia Halfrecht)
Nick Gregory	...	Flight Attendant
Ed Jewett	...	Mail Clerk
Becky Ann Baker	...	Waitress
Billy Van	...	Taxi Driver

Storyline

Gabriel Noone is a late night radio-host in a big city, specializing in spooky tales culled from his active imagination. When Gabriel's lover decides he needs some "space" and moves out, Gabriel descends into a funk until a publisher friend brings him a manuscript written by 14 year-old Pete Logand, a troubled young fan. Pete's story touches the vulnerable Gabriel deeply. Pete was severely abused by his parents and is now under the care of his former social worker, Donna Logand, who has adopted him. Pete is very ill and he and Donna are keeping a low profile in a small town in Wisconsin to avoid discovery by Pete's mother. Gabriel develops an unsettling long-distance telephone relationship with the boy and his guardian. Nothing is as it seems and the skepticism of friends causes Gabriel to become suspicious of Donna and her motives, so he tries to resolve the loose ends by traveling to Wisconsin to confront Donna and Pete. But this effort is largely unsuccessful and we are left ...

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Plot Keywords:

telephone | talk show host | based on novel | john f. kennedy international airport | new york city new york | 

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Taglines:

You never know who's listening.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some disquieting sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 5 minutes and 58 seconds into the film, Armistead Maupin's real-life husband Christopher Turner appears, playing the part of Jess's (Bobby Cannavale) friend whom Gabriel (Robin Williams) facetiously refers to as "Lucifer." Jess corrects him and says, "Lucien. He's just a friend."

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Goofs

The zip code for the Montgomery, Wisconsin address starts with a '2', but all Wisconsin zip codes start with 5.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gabriel Noone: [Black screen. Sounds of squeaking chair as someone sits down, microphone squealing, paper rustling, and a thump] Ready?
[Sound of one breath blown into microphone]
Gabriel Noone: [Unknown woman mumbles]
Gabriel Noone: Yeah, let's try it like that.
[Paper rustling]
Gabriel Noone: [Unknown woman mumbles again]

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Crazy Credits

The production wishes to thank ... the residents of 95th Street, NYC ...

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Connections

Spun-off from More Tales of the City (1998)

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Soundtracks

So Sensitive
Written by Pete Miser (as Pete Ho)
Performed by Pete Miser
Courtesy of Ho-Made Media

User Reviews

Give it a shot.

This Night Listener is better than people are generally saying. It has weaknesses, and it seems to be having a genre identity crisis, no doubt, but I think its creepy atmosphere and intriguing performances make up for this. The whole thing feels like one of those fireside "this happened to a friend of a friend of mine" ghost stories. One big complaint about the movie is the pacing: but the slow and sometimes awkward pacing is deliberate. Everything that unfolds in this movie is kept well within the realm of possibility, and real life just sort of plods along—no? So there are no flashy endings or earth-shattering revelations, no "showdown" scenes. Thank Heaven. You have to get into the zone when watching this movie, forget your reservations and your expectations of what makes a (conventionally)good movie. Williams isn't terrific, but he easily meets the needs of the story, plus his character is supposed to be somewhat generic ("No One") as he is the Everyman, the avatar by which we ourselves enter the story. Toni Collette's performance should be nominated for an Oscar (even if she maybe shouldn't win it). Give it a shot. For quality and content alone, The Night Listener is surely in the top twenty percent of movies coming out these days.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Night Listener

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,600,000, 6 August 2006

Gross USA:

$7,836,393

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,639,686

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hart Sharp Entertainment, IFC Films, Fortissimo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 81 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1