Literary scandals were always more frightening for the publisher than the public. "The Night Listener" twists manuscript fabrication into a tale of murder and misdirection.
With a plot that hits home in an era in which James Frey and J.T. LeRoy grab as many headlines for fraud as genuine authors do for literary success, "The Night Listener" has Robin Williams shedding the funny business for a deep, intimate portrait of a troubled character.
Williams alone is the reason to sit through the film, despite an ending that pulls the rug out from under you, only to use the rug to cover itself. The actor, internalizing his comedic neuroses into fragile pathos, is as solid here as he is in other recent dramatic turns, including "One Hour Photo" and "Insomnia."
Director Patrick Stettner ("The Business of Strangers") bases the movie on Armistead Maupin's 2000 novel that drew on Maupin's real-life experiences, hence the "inspired by true events" subtitle at the beginning of the film.
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Williams plays Gabriel Noone, a storyteller who hosts a nationally syndicated radio program and is struggling through creative burnout and a rough extended breakup with his partner, Jess (Bobby Cannavale). A book editor gives Gabriel a manuscript to get his mind off his own issues. The book is penned by Pete, a 14-year-old boy who was repeatedly sexually abused as a child and is close to death, afflicted with syphilis and AIDS.
Touched by Pete's plight, Gabriel strikes up a phone conversation with the boy, who escaped from the home and lives with his foster mother, Donna (Toni Collette), in Wisconsin.
Jess, a recovering AIDS victim who has drifted away from Gabriel to the party scene, looks upon Gabriel's new friendship with a furrowed brow, insisting that something sounds fishy. Gabriel assumes Jess is only jealous and pushes forward in his efforts to insinuate himself into Pete's life, sending him valuable autographed sports paraphernalia and crossing a line of appropriateness by sending him a porn magazine. Gabriel, who always wanted kids, fills a missing part of his soul with the relationship.
Still, Jess' suspicions about the boy's veracity gnaw at Gabriel, who sets out on an obsessive quest to meet Pete. The storyteller sinks deeper and deeper into an increasingly obtuse web, putting himself at risk both psychologically and physically.
Collette, playing a sweet yet unbalanced caretaker, is Williams' equal. In Donna, there are shades of the Kathy Bates character in "Misery." She's a big fan of Gabriel's work, and with that familiarity comes sinister contempt.
Stettner stirs the pot with the strong performances and slick writing, stringing the viewer along for a payoff that never quite comes. There's a blurry line between coming to a tantalizingly vague conclusion and leaving the viewer out to dry, and Stettner leans too close to the latter.
"The Night Listener" is 80 percent a superb thriller, backloaded with 20 percent gotcha and goodbye. That's a scandalous way to treat a viewer.
review
The Night Listener
**1/2
Rated: R for language and some disquieting sexual content
Cast: Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, Rory Culkin
Director: Patrick Stettner
Family call: Includes dark, sadistic subject matter not suitable for kids.
Running time: 91 minutes
Opens Friday at: Park Place, El Con, Century Park, Foothills
