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The Night Listener . . . one of the best listeners I’ve ever heard. Makes no sense? Exactly!
This movie is based on actual events about a 14 year old boy who wrote a book detailing the severe abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents. He was removed from his patents custody and subsequently adopted by a social worker. The Night Listener begins when the boy befriends, over the phone, a late night radio show host Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams). Gabriel’s personal life is in turmoil, so the boy – Pete (Rory Culkin) – is a welcome distraction that may just be temporary since Pete is dying from AIDS. Gabriel’s friends prompt him to question the existance of Pete when everyone realizes no one has actually ever met Pete. They speculate that maybe Pete is really an alternate personality of his adopted mom Donna (Toni Collette). This throws Gabriel into the middle of a dark mystery that he is determined to solve. The mystery leads him cross country and into the world of what might be a psychologically disturbed woman. Even today, 10 years later, no one is sure if Pete is real or not – even though “Pete” claims to still be alive.
The Night Listener is eerie and dark and disturbing – sensations that are only intensified by the fact that the movie is based on a true story. However, like many true stories, not everything gets resolved. Strong acting, complex characters, and intense, well-crafted imagery cannot overcome the fact that the very odd story never gets fully resolved. The climax, the final confrontation, the great revelation never really happens. What little is inferred about the “truth” is far from satisfying, somewhat ruining the experience by not delivering to expectations. The Night Listener, unfortunately, never tells us enough to make it worthwhile.
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