The Night Listener (2006)

Inspired by a real-life experience of author Armistead Maupin (on whose book the film is based), THE NIGHT LISTENER is a dark drama that derives its strengths as much from the places it doesn't go as the places it does. Spare and tense, it tells the story of Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), a storyteller with a national late-night radio show. Gay and recovering from a breakup with his much younger lover, Jess (Bobby Cannavale), Gabriel is experiencing writer's block. His life takes on a strange new wrinkle, though, when a literary agent (Joe Morton) passes on a manuscript he's received from a young fan of Gabriel'...
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s--an AIDS-stricken 14-year-old boy, Pete (Rory Culkin), who has written a detailed account of the prolonged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents and their friends. Gabriel develops a friendly phone relationship with the boy, but soon senses that something is unusual about Pete and his caretaker, Donna (Toni Collette), and ventures to Wisconsin to figure out exactly what's going on.

With its pure and streamlined narrative, THE NIGHT LISTENER sidesteps the showy pitfalls that derail many modern thrillers. Fueled by subdued performances from Williams, whose manic energy is all but invisible, and Collette, whose chameleon-like brilliance has never been more in evidence, the film has obvious echoes of Hitchcock, as well as strange parallels to 2005's JT LeRoy literary scandal. Once Noone arrives in Wisconsin, an all-enveloping sense of unease starts in on a slow burn, and remote locations are used to great effect. Williams has a scene in a hospital that couldn't be further from PATCH ADAMS, and by the quiet conclusion, you will be wondering if maybe you should be a little less trustful of strangers, especially if they're big fans of your work.
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A man whose life has been touched by tragic illness is drawn into the life of another victim whose story has an unsettling twist in this drama. Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) is a radio talk show host who has developed a loyal following for his deeply personal on-air monologues, many of which deal with his relationship with his companion Jess (Bobby Cannavale), who is HIV-positive and struggling with his health. When Jess' condition improves, he surprises Gabriel by announcing he needs his space and has decided to break up with him. Gabriel is shaken and feels creatively blocked until Ashe (Joe Morton), a friend ...
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in the publishing business, gives him an advance copy of a memoir by Pete Logand (Rory Culkin), a 14-year-old boy living with AIDS. Pete's book is a harrowing memoir of a childhood fraught with abuse of all sorts meted out at the hands of his parents, and Gabriel is deeply moved by his story. One night, Gabriel gets a phone call from Pete, who claims to be a big fan of his radio show, but the call is cut off by Donna (Toni Collette), Pete's stern and protective stepmother. While Gabriel admires Pete's book, he begins to question its veracity, and with the help of Anna (Sandra Oh) tries to research the facts behind the story. As he uncovers more loose ends, Gabriel begins to suspect that Pete isn't the true author of the work, and that Donna has created his terrible past in the name of literary celebrity. The Night Listener was adapted from the novel by Armistead Maupin.
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Gabriel Noone (Williams) is de host van de late night radio show Noone at Midnight. Zijn relatie met zijn vriend Jess is na tien jaar stukgelopen. Over de telefoon begint hij een vertrouwensrelatie met zijn grootste fan, de veertienjarige Pete Logand (Culkin). Wanneer er steeds meer bekend wordt over de achtergrond van Pete wordt het leven van Gabriel een grote chaos en wordt hij met alles en iedereen geconfronteerd.

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