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.
Set in a world with memory recording implants, Alan Hakman is a cutter, someone with the power of final edit over people's recorded histories. His latest assignment is one that puts him in danger.
By working through problems stemming from his past, Tom Warshaw, an American artist living in Paris, begins to discover who he really is, and returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends.
Unable to cope with a recent personal tragedy, LA's top celebrity shrink turns into a pothead with no concern for his appearance and a creeping sense of his inability to help his patients.
A mentally unstable photo developer targets a middle-class family after his obsession with them becomes more sick and disturbing than any of them could imagine.
Director:
Mark Romanek
Stars:
Robin Williams,
Connie Nielsen,
Michael Vartan
When his son's body is found in a humiliating accident, a lonely high school teacher inadvertently attracts an overwhelming amount of community and media attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.
Director:
Bobcat Goldthwait
Stars:
Robin Williams,
Daryl Sabara,
Morgan Murphy
Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.
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 ...Written by
Joe Jurca
The zip code for the Montgomery, Wisconsin address starts with a '2', but all Wisconsin zip codes start with 5. See more »
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 ... See more »
Just who is that person on the other end of the line, in any virtual relationship that we may happen to engage? In "The Night Listener" a late-night NYC radio storyteller named Gabriel (Robin Williams) talks to, and corresponds with, a 14-year-old sick boy named Pete, and his adult guardian Donna, who live in Wisconsin. But Gabriel's partner becomes suspicious of Pete and Donna, which leads Gabriel to go to Wisconsin to see the boy, to whom Gabriel has grown attached.
It's an interesting and provocative idea. We make assumptions, and don't bother to check them out. If those assumptions are false, then we engage in self-deception. This story questions the nature of reality, in personal relationships carried on over long distances. As a mystery, the film is dark, and when combined with elevator background music, the tone is sleepy and somber.
The problem here is that, although it's an interesting concept, there's really not enough material to justify a full-length feature film. The plot contains many contrivances that extend the runtime, and even then, the film is only 81 minutes in duration. The pace is very, very slow.
Further, while I like and admire Robin Williams as a comedian, he comes across as boring, in serious roles and not just because those roles lack humor. In "The Night Listener", he pouts his way through, all doleful and morose. You get the feeling that he's going to burst into tears at any moment.
As we watch the film, clearly there is some mystery that we do not understand, some puzzle that must be solved. And yet, when we find out what the solution is, it's a letdown. There never really was that much to the puzzle, after all.
"The Night Listener" is mostly a Robin Williams cinematic vehicle, and he plays his part very, very seriously. The script, based on an intriguing concept, just does not contain enough significant plot points to make the film entertaining.
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Just who is that person on the other end of the line, in any virtual relationship that we may happen to engage? In "The Night Listener" a late-night NYC radio storyteller named Gabriel (Robin Williams) talks to, and corresponds with, a 14-year-old sick boy named Pete, and his adult guardian Donna, who live in Wisconsin. But Gabriel's partner becomes suspicious of Pete and Donna, which leads Gabriel to go to Wisconsin to see the boy, to whom Gabriel has grown attached.
It's an interesting and provocative idea. We make assumptions, and don't bother to check them out. If those assumptions are false, then we engage in self-deception. This story questions the nature of reality, in personal relationships carried on over long distances. As a mystery, the film is dark, and when combined with elevator background music, the tone is sleepy and somber.
The problem here is that, although it's an interesting concept, there's really not enough material to justify a full-length feature film. The plot contains many contrivances that extend the runtime, and even then, the film is only 81 minutes in duration. The pace is very, very slow.
Further, while I like and admire Robin Williams as a comedian, he comes across as boring, in serious roles and not just because those roles lack humor. In "The Night Listener", he pouts his way through, all doleful and morose. You get the feeling that he's going to burst into tears at any moment.
As we watch the film, clearly there is some mystery that we do not understand, some puzzle that must be solved. And yet, when we find out what the solution is, it's a letdown. There never really was that much to the puzzle, after all.
"The Night Listener" is mostly a Robin Williams cinematic vehicle, and he plays his part very, very seriously. The script, based on an intriguing concept, just does not contain enough significant plot points to make the film entertaining.