The Night Listener

If you have ever had that nagging feeling that something, about someone, just did not seem to be in complete order with you, then director Patrick Stettner's 2006 film, "The Night Listener", starring Robin Williams might just be the film for you.

Despite some uneven performances, probably due to the films 81 minute running time, the movie achieves at least one of its objectives by keeping you on the edge of your seat until the final credits roll. Based upon factual events, the story centers around New York City radio talk show Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) who has used circumstances from his personal life to advance his career by making them part of his show, and taking creative license with the facts at times.

His latest series of stories detailed events of his now ended relationship with live in boyfriend Jess (Bobby Cannavale). It is never really explained fully if Noone truly exploits his relationship for personal gain as the story moves quickly to Noone's fascination with a manuscript being considered for publication that he is specifically asked to read about child abuse, as it was written by his self proclaimed biggest fan, 14-year old Pete (Rory Culkin). Gabriel begins a telephone relationship with Pete and his foster mother Donna (Toni Collette) who live in a small town in Wisconsin, under the protective watch of its citizens for reasons, again, never fully explained.

Pete's heartbreaking story causes Gabriel to jump in without caution or question until Jess happens to be present during one of the speaker phone conversations and something he says begins to raise doubts in Gabriel's mind about everything Pete, and Donna are telling him.

The story never seems to settle on a direction toward a conclusion. At times the story seems to lead you down the path of both Pete and Jess being HIV-positive, at other times, the nagging convenience of answers that Donna always seems to have to Gabriel's growing fascination with Pete's compelling story. The story even hints at drawing parallels between Donna's apparent deceit and Gabriel's possible need for Pete's story to replace the loss of Jess as material for his show.