The Night Listener (2006)

By John Chard

As for Pete, there's a line in the Velveteen Rabbit that reads... Real isn't how you were made. It's the thing that happens to you. I'm Gabriel Noone. Goodnight. Well I can add The Night Listener to my list of films that I believe are criminally undervalued. I be genuinely surprised to see this finely crafted tale rated below 6 on some internet movie sites. Is it just the Robin Williams haters dragging this smart film down? Or perhaps it's kids who don't quite understand a film about the complex and eerie nature of the fragile human condition? Either way this film delivers something outside of the norm, something for those to seek out who require a break from the hum drum of the spoon fed Hollywood masses. Boasting the ever reliable and undervalued talent of Robin Williams (gusto without histrionics), and the considerable brilliance of Toni Collette, the film delivers a dark look at the yearning for love in some form or another, at the gullibility of those in need of something, making this film is a smart and intriguing nights entertainment. All those interested in the film should seek out the true story it's based on, that of the Anthony Godby Johnson affair, itself an eerie slice of human mystery. This wouldn't be out of place on Hitchcock's CV, and tomorrow when I'm taking on the challenges of another working class day, this film will be at the forefront of my mind - because it did its job handsomely. You may not like it once viewed, but you will at least think about it afterward. Or maybe it's just me that thinks this is a little gem that should be thought of better with the advent of time... 7.5/10