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:
Robin Williams	...	Gabriel Noone
Toni Collette	...	Donna D. Logand
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 | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some disquieting sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

BV Entertainment [United States] Official site [UK]

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

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

Featured in At the Movies: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby/Little Miss Sunshine/Shadowboxer/Miami Vice/The Night Listener (2006)

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Soundtracks

Blue Street
Written by Bob Sheppard
Performed by Studio Musicians
Courtesy of FirstCom Music Inc.

User Reviews

Not bad, just not a lot there.

"The Night Listener" tells the story of Gabriel No one a radio storyteller who finds himself living his most interesting yarn yet. He is given a book to review by his publisher and strikes up a telephone friendship with the troubled young author, Pete Logand. When questions come up about the sordid events of Pete's autobiographical work Gabriel sets out to discover the truth.

The film takes a steady, sober look at its characters which avoids the pitfalls of typical "suspense" films. The characters are believable and interesting, with Toni Collette delivering a particularly fine performance. For some reason though, the story simply didn't have much of an impact on me. If I had to hazard a guess why I would say that the relationship between Gabriel and Pete wasn't given enough time to breathe in this short 82 minute film. The early repartee between Robin Williams and Rory Culkin was some of the best material in the film. I think we needed a bit more of that to feel the sense of connection that Gabriel did and to understand the need that this relationship answered in his life. At one point he asks himself, "Why am I here?" Unfortunately, we cannot convincingly answer.