New York radio show host Gabriel Noone is distracted by his breakup with longtime lover, Jess (Cannavale), which is affecting his work. Use the HTML below. The Night Listener: A Noveland millions of other books are available for Amazon Kindle. The Night Listener - The Night Listener tackles the narrative of Armistead Maupin's most haunting page-turner, in which popular public radio storyteller Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) develops an intense phone relationship with a young listener named Pete (Rory Culkin) and the social worker who rescued him from a life of abuse (Toni Collette). 232 of 270 people found this review helpful. The story really will amaze you, even more so because it's true (and the plot did stay quite faithful to the actual events).2. Following the publication of the novel, a friend of Maupin's who wrote for The New Yorker instigated an investigation. "[3], Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle described it as "a movie with lots of heart but no heartbeat ... it feels infected by a malaise ... yet the film has intelligence and integrity and cannot be dismissed. Noone returns to Manhattan and uses his experience to create The Night Listener, a new radio story. Increasingly suspicious, Noone contacts all the hospitals in Madison, the location of the nearest facilities, but none have the boy registered as a patient. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Yet The Night Listener keeps you watching. The film went on to gross $7,836,393 domestically and $2,785,502 in foreign markets for a total box office of $10,621,895. Several months later, Maupin's then-lover Terry Anderson (who co-wrote the screenplay), who had spoken to the boy on occasion, had a conversation with his mother and was struck by how much she and the boy sounded alike. Robin Williams long ago broke free from the chains of the comedy type-cast, and he has since flourished in serious roles for which many people would have wrote him off just a decade ago. The two quickly developed a close telephone relationship, and Maupin frequently discussed the boy's various physical ailments (he had been diagnosed with AIDS) with his adopted mother, Vicki Johnson. And listening. But when troubling questions arise about the boy's identity, Noone finds himself drawn into a widening mystery that hides a deadly secret! Pete's story touches the vulnerable Gabriel deeply. Noone’s personal secretary Anna (Sandra Oh) adds fuel to the fire by discussing her research into people who fabricate elaborate stories to get attention. Search for "The Night Listener" on Amazon.com, Title: This is a novel that brazenly demands to be read as a memoir. Noone begins a telephone relationship with the boy and Donna. Diagnosed with AIDS, the youth has been adopted by Donna Logand (Toni Collette), the social worker who handled his case. Gabriel Noone is a late night radio-host in a big city, specializing in spooky tales culled from his active imagination. Was this review helpful to you? Absolutely. It prevails by keeping the main focus on wonderfully depicted character interaction. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. Having both lost their jobs, two strangers become unlikely friends after a run in with a would be robber, who is actually a hitman with a grudge against the two. The screenplay by Armistead Maupin, Terry Anderson, and Stettner is based on Maupin's 2000 novel The Night Listener, which was inspired by Anthony Godby Johnson. During World War II, an ordinary inhabitant of a ghetto fakes news about Allied offensives to inspire hope for other victims of the Nazi regime. She has drastically changed her appearance and no longer has a guide dog or dark glasses, revealing her blindness was also an act. "[6], Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Night_Listener_(film)&oldid=1000111499, LGBT-related films based on actual events, Films with screenplays by Armistead Maupin, Articles needing additional references from August 2017, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 January 2021, at 17:00. He is stunned to learn that she is blind and uses a guide dog. He once again achieves high form in his role in The Night Listener, playing a radio host who becomes increasingly troubled by and entangled in a case of...well, I'll let you see for yourself.3. Aug. 4, 2006 Based on a novel by Armistead Maupin, which was based in turn on an episode in Mr. Maupin’s life, “The Night Listener” explores a shadowy region between truth and fiction. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival before opening on 1,367 screens in the US, earning $3,554,134 in its opening weekend. Great plot? The Night Listener is a 2006 American psychological thriller horror film directed by Patrick Stettner and starring Robin Williams. Adopted by Armistead Maupin from his novel, this film has a slow-paced energy that makes it almost hard to stay awake for anyone expecting a thriller. Written by Pete's story touches the vulnerable Gabriel deeply. Tommy Wilhelm is a good honest man who's fallen on hard times after losing his job, but what really gets to Tommy is seeing both his friends and family turning their backs on him one after the other. Enjoy the show! In The Night Listener Revealed, an extra on the film's DVD release, Armistead Maupin discusses the inspiration for his novel. She assures him he can visit the boy the following day, then suddenly becomes angry and tells him she will not allow him to meet Pete. Grass’, Nine Actors Who Reinvented Themselves and Revitalized Their Careers, The Family Fang movie review: family bites, Robin Williams' Legacy of Cinematic Jewels, At the Movies: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby/Little Miss Sunshine/Shadowboxer/Miami Vice/The Night Listener. Soon after, while eating in a local diner, he overhears another patron and recognizes her voice as that of Donna. Excellent direction? Noone discovers the return address on Pete's correspondence is actually a mail drop. Let's go over a quick checklist first: 1. Gabriel Noone (Williams), a celebrated writer and late-night talk show host, becomes captivated by the harrowing story of a young listener and his adoptive mother (Toni Collette, TV's United States of Tara). (2006). The story was reported by 20/20, which revealed that the photo of "Anthony" that Vicki had sent to Anthony's supporters was a childhood photo of Steve Tarabokija, now a healthy adult and a New Jersey traffic engineer, who was shocked to find his photo being represented to people as the face of Anthony Godby Johnson. Distressed that Noone doesn't believe her, Donna collapses in the middle of a road and tries to hold him with her in the path of an oncoming truck. But when questions about the boy's identity come up, the host's life is thrown into chaos. 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. 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. The Night Listener is a 2006 American psychological thriller horror film directed by Patrick Stettner and starring Robin Williams. The Night Listener is about questions. The Night Listener It begins in a radio studio with Gabe's hushed, hypnotic voice. But it takes more than a few brooding strings to make a film taut and tense. A topical study of writers deceptions, which also explores issues of identity and the blurred lines between fantasy and reality, The Night Listener is … Lighting, cinematography, and editing? In the midst of his crumbling relationship, a radio show host begins speaking to his biggest fan—a young boy—via the telephone. As he became increasingly suspicious about the situation, Maupin became more and more determined to believe the boy really existed. Noone follows her home and Donna senses he has followed her. He tries to seize the day - in vain. Sounds of squeaking chair as someone sits down, microphone squealing, paper rustling, and a thump, Sound of one breath blown into microphone, Armistead Maupin: ‘How do I relax? Gabriel develops an unsettling long-distance telephone relationship with the boy and his guardian. For THE NIGHT LISTENER is a novel not unlike a three-ring circus with perhaps too much going at one time for the reader to ever truly rest his eyes on one story line. 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. There's something a little precious about it, a … "[5], David Rooney of Variety thought it was "tediously solemn" and a "dawdling mystery thriller [that] manages to flatten two protagonists that had far more depth in the novel ... Lenser Lisa Rinzler gives the film a somber, elegant look, and Peter Nashel's score adds a layer of intensity. Noone's paranoia about the boy's existence grows and, hoping to find proof of his existence, he breaks into Donna's home. She then moves everything out of her home and disappears before the police can question her. His latest assignment is one that puts him in danger. "As he comes to question his memories, he also wonders about his motives for telling stories. Kirk Honeycutt Plays like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller but is nevertheless a movie of ideas. Pete was severely abused by his parents and is now under the care of his former social worker, Donna Logand, who has adopted him. Now, unlike the other poster to which I referred, I actually know something about direction. In 1992, the author was sent the manuscript of a memoir allegedly written by fourteen-year-old Anthony Godby Johnson, who had been sexually and physically abused by his parents since childhood. In response to a phone call from Donna, Noone goes to a motel where she was staying, and finds Pete's stuffed rabbit and a videotape under a blanket. Check out our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're excited about this month, like Mortal Kombat, "Them," and Stowaway. Noone convinces the police he meant no harm and is released, only to find Donna waiting for him with the news that Pete is dead; also, that he was in a Milwaukee hospital, and was never in Madison. Armistead Maupin is the author of the nine-volume Tales of the City series, which includes Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, and now The Days of Anna Madrigal.Maupin's other novels include Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener. The Night Listener is a 2000 roman à clef by Armistead Maupin. When Gabriel's partner Jess (Bobby Cannavale) leaves him, he finds solace of sorts in a friendship with 14-year-old Pete. [2], A. O. Scott of The New York Times called the film a "well-meaning, flat-footed screen adaptation [that] has its creepy, suspenseful moments ... but it shrinks a rich, strange story to the dimensions of an anecdote ... the psychological and intellectual implications that hover over the story are lost in the spooky atmospherics and overshadowed by Ms. Collette's off-kilter showboating. Determined to prove the boy exists and his story is true, Noone decides to pay a surprise visit to Pete in his hometown in rural Wisconsin. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. In the final scene, Donna is searching for a new home in a coastal town, telling the realtor she needs it for herself and her son, who has just lost his leg but will be released the next day. The Night Listener ★★½ 2006Williams does drama in this adaptation of Maupin's novel. Certainly. 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