The Night Listener was an interesting little jaunt into the world of a seriously deranged person . . .
. . . this begs the question, who was the really deranged person? And that was the question I was left asking myself at the end of this film. For all intents and purposes the movie totally points you in one direction of who is at least one sandwich short of a picnic basket. And that is the right direction, but to be fair the other direction certainly has its fair share of ingredients missing.
Having said that, I will have to admit that I was extremely interested in this film from the beginning. I didn't have a real clear picture of what it was about when I went to see it in the theater. I would advise that this might be the best frame of mind to see the film in because it will just keep you guessing throughout it.
I really don't want to go into too much detail into the plot of The Night Listener as I feel that it might ruin the film for first time watchers. I will say this much - it was about a nighttime radio storyteller, Gabriel Noone (
Robin Williams) who plucks his own life like a chicken being readied for Sunday dinner to fill in his hours of radio time. He becomes involved with a young boy named Pete Logand (
Rory Culkin) and his adopted mother, Donna Logand (
Toni Collette) who have the most amazingly bizarre story to tell about the boy's childhood.
Noone's involvement with them turns to obsession when questions come up as to the story's validity. Subsequently, he plunges even deeper into his irrational preoccupation with the boy and this leads him on a cross country goose chase to try and answer these questions.
Now there are a lot of issues that I have with the way this story unfolded. Again, I can't get into too much for fear of ruining someone's viewing experience but all in all
The Night Listener was a pretty good movie. But in the end, it just left me feeling a little open ended . . .
The Night Listener Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
Patrick Stettner
Writing credits
Armistead Maupin (screenplay) and
Terry Anderson (screenplay) and
Patrick Stettner (screenplay)
Armistead Maupin (novel)
Cast (in credits order)
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
Nick Gregory .... Flight Attendant
Marcia Haufrecht .... Pant Suited Woman
Ed Jewett .... Mail Clerk
Becky Ann Baker .... Waitress
E.J. Carroll .... Hospital Security Guard
James Stankunas .... Boy in Hospital
Marceline Hugot .... Nurse
Joel Garland .... Officer (as Joel Marsh Garland)
Hal Robinson .... Male Friend #1
Keith Reddin .... Male Friend #2
Meg Gibson .... Female Friend
Mark Jacoby .... Male Realtor
Maryann Plunkett .... Alice (Female Realtor)
More Reviews of The Night Listener
Movie Review of The Night Listener from Rotten TomatoesThe Night Listener Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database
