|
"Williams 'listens'
in." |
 |
Directed by Patrick
Stettner - Written by P. Stettner, T.
Anderson & A.
Maupin
Starring Robin Williams,
Toni Collette, Rory
Culkin
Distributed by Miramax -
Year - 81 mins - Rated R |
| |
|
A nice little post summer treat... |
| |
As much
as I adore the explosions, action and violence of the summer movie
season, by August I am always a little tired of the excess of the past
three months and crave something a little smaller and a lot smarter.
That’s why “The Night Listener” is a pleasant surprise. It’s a subtle,
fascinating thriller completely devoid of excess. It’s brilliantly
acted, well paced and “Hitchcockian” in style and tone.
Robin Williams stars as Gabriel Noone a radio personality who begins
corresponding with a young boy who wrote a book about his abusive
parents. A friendship forms between the two, but things take a bizarre
and interesting turn. To tell you more would be a mistake…the less you
know, the more fun you’ll have.
When Williams isn’t playing a character who randomly breaks into fifty
character voices, he is one of the best actors currently living. This
performance is up there with his work in “Insomnia” and “One Hour
Photo” (and it’s better than his overrated work in “Good Will
Hunting”). This is not a flashy, heroic or funny role, but Williams
manages to make Noone engaging and likable. In supporting
performances, Rory Culkin and Toni Collette don’t get enough to do,
but are quite good.
At a brisk 81 minutes, this is small film that moves fast, creates
more than a few great moments and leaves without overstaying it’s
welcome. It’s a nice break from the summer movie season and while I
will never watch it again, I certainly do not regret watching it. |
| |
|
© Written by Jacob Hall -
Email
Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Richard Propes' Comment
n/a
|
