HOME
MOVIES
TV Shows
In Theatres
SEARCH
FRESH
QUEUE
The Night Listener
2006
MOVIE IS
convincing
interesting
intriguing
psychological
fascinating
Close Video
watch now
Reviews
similar movies
cast & crew
tags
33 %
40 %
Rotten
$ 10 Million
See Where to Watch
The Night Listener
Positive Reviews
49
Negative reviews
20
Average Rating
3.0
/5
convincing
interesting
intriguing
psychological
fascinating
All
Positive
Negative
3.8
Gabe may be full of self pity, but he doesnt display his neediness to the movie audience.
Rogerebert
1.5
The plot dawdles along, intrigue gives way to risible melodrama, and Patrick Stettner fails to get to grips with the issues.
Time Out
2.5
But in a film thats already established its protagonist as a raging, loathsome man, theres no room here for romantic notions of crime.
1.5
Aiming to blur the distinctions between truth and illusion, it simply blurs its own effectiveness by relying on predictable and not particularly convi ..
3.0
Its unlike anything else out now, and Williams, to his credit and our immense relief, has for the moment foresworn his usual giddiness in favor of a m ..
2.0
The story backs itself into a corner and gets lost trying to find a satisfactory way out.
E Film Critic
2.5
These questions become, for Gabriel, matters of intense interest.
San Francisco Chronicle
4.0
The Night Listener is intriguing, thought provoking and harrowing by turns, with fine central and supporting performances and a richly satisfying feel ..
3.0
A moving mystery of the heart based on a novel by Armistead Maupin about the lengths some people will go to find acceptance and love.
Spirituality And Practice
3.8
An eerie, occasionally disturbing motion picture focused on the differences between perception and reality.
ReelViews
3.8
But Maupin isnt particularly interested in explaining or apologizing.
Combust Ible Celluloid
2.8
The never ending riddle that is The Night Listener is buoyed by interesting performances by Toni Collette and Rory Culkin.
4.4
The film retains its literary feel, unfolding as a captivating novel might.
Usa Today
3.8
Williams proves to be perfectly cast and consequently offers up a subtle, thoroughly compelling performance thats deftly matched by the uniformly supe ..
Reel Film Reviews
3.5
This film is a good character study and it sets its creepy tone with real artistry.
Lariat
3.2
The Night Listener, adapted by Maupin, Stettner and Terry Anderson, tries delving into Gabriels psyche, but it doesnt wind up showing us as much as it ..
Eric Ds Nider
3.0
The story is fascinating and often disturbing, but the film never really gets beneath the surface.
Shadows On The Wall
2.0
However, the film brushes over certain elements of the book (most notably Gabriels relationship with his partner) and shies away from its more importa ..
View London
2.2
Taut direction and convincing performances impart a terrifying sense of claustrophobia and isolation.
Cs Monitor
1.5
A somber storyline, empty scares and a deceptive ending are not likely to spell box office success.
Film Journal International ..
2.5
While the film claims to be based on real life events in the life of author Armistead Maupin, there are more than a couple of sequences that strain cr ..
Deseret News (Salt Lake Ci ..
4.4
Running just 81 minutes, it delivers its fascinating little tale with the succinctness and emotional power of a great short story.
Internet Reviews
2.5
The movie isnt particularly well made director Patrick Stettner lent a defter hand to his last film, The Business of Strangers.
Boston
4.0
In the end, its the desolation of the sadness stemming from the realization hes alone thats behind the search for a reality that perhaps doesnt exist.
Mountain X
1.5
Its stylish and classy and beautifully acted... and it so disappoints in the end...
3.1
Theres more to this story than meets the eye or ear especially when Collette, magnetic in her intensity, appears as a figure straight out of Vertigo o ..
Toronto Star
2.5
A frustrating thriller whose first half is intriguing and ambiguous, but second one is generic without delivering the basic goods, Stettners sophomore ..
Emanuellevy
4.5
Tension builds, the audience is kept guessing to the end (and beyond), and things are not blatantly spelled out.
Reel Talk Reviews
1.5
Review by Louise Keller: The eerie and chilling mood is the best thing about The Night Listener, which falls down fatally with its poorly written scri ..
2.8
Whos Not Bad: Im always excited when I can say Ive seen a movie starring Williams in which he doesnt make me wish he werent real himself.
Movies
2.0
Something doesnt ring true, however, perhaps because hes never laid eyes on the boy.
Bbc
2.5
Even at 82 minutes, the film seems padded out, spinning its wheels and generating no suspense once the central, easily answered question is introduced ..
Mr Brown Movies
4.4
A quiet, measured and resolutely unnerving mystery, The Night Listener is one of the years most assuredly intelligent releases.
The Movie Boy
3.5
Collettes performance aside, however, youll find the rest of this films talented cast is grossly underused.
Bullz-Eye
4.4
The Night Listener is a rather intense psychological character piece that keeps you on edge, as well as intrigued, with the promise of malevolence at ..
Hollywood
2.8
At its best, its an economical and absorbing little parable about the illusiveness of truth.
Seattle Pi
0.0
It could have been a terrific gothic thriller, but its not because the talent just isnt there.
Tony Medley
2.2
The films over leveraged plot imparts diminishing results as its predictable revelation arrives with an unsatisfying anticlimax.
Coles Mithey
0.5
The films (partial) salvation comes oddly enough from Robin Williams, an actor Id just about given up on.
Pajiba
3.8
The Night Listener isnt going to be a movie for fans of Robin Williams zany antics, because its more of the logical progression from Williams darker t ..
3.0
Its worth seeing for the performances, but its something to go in with low expectations on the plot itself.
7M Pictures
3.5
Director Patrick Stettner chooses to film the latter bits of Gabriels mundane investigation as a full blown psychological thriller, and it mostly work ..
Oregon Live
3.0
The thriller is relatively consistent at maintaining the suspense and dramatic tension that made the original work of fiction so compelling to the cel ..
Boxoffice Magazine
3.2
The twisty but thin script is neither complex enough to be a fascinating character study nor exciting enough to be a satisfying thriller.
E Online
3.0
Jess, meanwhile, is trying to assure Gabriel that, while hes gone from his apartment, hes not altogether gone from his life.
Varia Gate
3.1
The Night Listener has much to recommend it, but I find myself less than enthusiastic precisely because this movie made me feel so lousy.
Kansas City
0.6
Why Mostly because theres very little pay off for the teases and false scares.
Ross Anthony
4.0
an engrossing thriller that probes the human psyche and is coy about giving up its secrets too easily
Killer Movie Reviews
4.4
The Night Listener is a great alternative for those who dont want to see silly comedies, animated fare for the kiddies or superheroes.
Waffle Movies
3.1
More intriguing than enthralling, more creepy than disturbing, The Night Listener runs a tidy 80 minutes yet still feels stretched.
Chron
1.0
Robin Williamss face is permanently on its smiling through emotional pain setting.
Film Guardian
4.4
Sometimes, holding up even a small mirror to contemporary anxieties is enough, which The Night Listener does by skillfully exploiting a mass distrust ..
Or Lando Weekly
2.2
The story, effective in print, doesnt survive onscreen scrutiny. Youll feel detached and, even with its brief 82 minute running time, youll get impati ..
Guide Live
1.5
Its a relief to see Williams underplaying for a change and letting us fill in the blanks, but the movies suggestiveness gives way to a certain thinnes ..
Chicago Reader
2.5
The Night Listener should have been a better film than it is and I can only think to blame Williams lacklustre performance for ultimately letting the ..
Jam! Movies
1.5
The Night Listener shamelessly jerks its audence this way and that, until it arrives at its lacklustre anti climactic conclusion.
Tony Mack
2.5
Unfortunately, director Patrick Stettner cant maintain that tone for long.
Flip Side Archive
2.5
...never got me involved enough with its main character or its supporting characters to make me feel one way or another about them or their predicamen ..
Movie Metropolis
4.5
Although the careless editing has left the plot in tatters, it hasnt ruined a sincere, low key performance by a grandfatherly looking Williams and an ..
James Sanford on Film
4.5
You dont have to try so hard to the point of making this look like work and strained effort.
2.5
In Stettners The Night Listener, Williams applies for his license to creep out the masses in a mopey and mediocre character study of atmospheric tensi ..
Movie Eye
2.5
If this story came over my airwaves I would be real tempted to change the station.
TheMovieChicks.com
4.5
Maupin has, in the past, penned many yarns in which suspense and sentiment have had a quirky and efficacious symbiosis. Here, there is virtually no su ..
IGN Movies
3.5
Robin Williams continues to prove his talent in serious, especially hangdog roles.
Compuserve
4.5
A movie that inspires us to question what we truly know about others and, even more importantly, about ourselves.
Review Journal
2.5
Collette, whose Donna may or may not be insane, doesnt get enough screen time to let us grasp her character.
Seattle Times
3.8
Listener is an intimate story, and Stettner directs accordingly, appreciating Maupins delicate framework and doesnt push his weight around trying to s ..
Film Jerk
2.8
Stettner keeps using Donnas evident disabilities, both physical and psychic, as opportunities for schlocky thrills.
Nicks Flick Picks
3.1
The Night Listener features a chilling mood and an excellent turn from Williams, finding both frailty and strength in a man desperately searching for ..
Chicago Tribune
2.5
...an oddly inert thriller, a movie of shocking revelations and sneaky twists that somehow still never jars you.
Suburban Chicago News
3.1
The deeper the story goes, the more it unravels, leading to a damaging finale that isnt ambiguous as much as its asinine.
3.1
80 percent a superb thriller, backloaded with 20 percent gotcha and goodbye. Thats a scandalous way to treat a viewer.
Arizona Daily Star
3.8
...a small, grown up movie for people who want a breather from all the current blockbusters, cartoons, and dumb comedies.
1.5
better suited for a 25 minute Twilight Zone episode (one of the forgettable ones)
Old School Reviews
3.8
In Patrick Stettners confident direction, with Lisa Rinzlers ominous to spooky cinematography, Williams and Collette carry off a fine visual realizati ..
4.0
The Night Listener is quirky and a little spooky, with a smart, literate script and polished direction from Patrick Stettner.
Democratand Chronicle
1.5
In the film, these profound themes become window dressing for a badly misconceived effort to turn Maupin into Hitchcock...
Bay Area Reporter
3.0
The protagonist, a merry and peaceful, and openhearted son of a wealthy merchant, is hacked to death; the whole town knows in advance and cant (or won ..
World Film About
3.1
Where the hero of Maupins novel learns some valuable lessons about love and faith, the film strikes a darker, even angry tone thats far more understan ..
Online Tv Guide
3.5
Presents one of the most fascinating characters of the year... a cool, calculated remedy to the late summer doldrums.
Freeze Dried Movies
1.5
One of those films where its easy to recognize somethings going on and theres interesting intentions but it just never comes together.
Calgary Movies
3.0
You should find this watchable and moderately clever; its just a shame that it tries to sound weighty about truth and love, instead of getting on with ..
Independent (UK)
2.5
Like a stick of butter ... awfully tough to swallow in one sitting.
See Where to Watch
The Night Listener