"Lackluster Character Study"

None | Light | Moderate | Heavy | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Language | ||||
Violence | ||||
Sex | ||||
Nudity |
What You Need To Know:
Intended for release in 2022 but only now arriving in theaters and on streaming, THE LISTENER is a reflection of the boredom and loneliness millions of people felt during the COVID pandemic lockdowns. Sadly, watching THE LISTENER provides the same level of boredom as real life in that period, making this movie inherently unentertaining for viewers. THE LISTENER has lots of strong foul language and some brief lewd content. So, MOVIEGUIDE® finds the movie excessive.
Content:
More Detail:
A tedious character study of a woman named Beth (Tessa Thompson) who spends her nights working as a listener on a call-in line for lonely and desperate people, THE LISTENER makes no attempt at a plot or character growth. Rather, it’s a 96-minute minimalist slog through a series of conversations in which Beth listens and speaks with compassion to those who call her, but never shows any emotional range herself.
The movie focuses the entire time on Beth in her apartment, breaking the monotony only with the various levels of sadness and troubles the callers have. One caller describes his confusion over life on the outside after spending years in prison, while another caller is a homeless woman fearful of her abusive boyfriend.
Still others include an IT man who starts asking uncomfortably personal questions of Beth before she has to hang up, while another is a war veteran who tragically describes having his foot blown off by a bomb in Iraq. Finally, the longest call is from a female college professor who debates Beth on whether suicide is bad, the meaning of life and whether God exists.
Through it all, director Steve Buscemi (TREES LOUNGE) gives viewers no sense of plot or any sign of character growth. Tessa Thompson (of the CREED movie trilogy) is the only face we see and shows viewers no compelling emotion.
Intended for release in 2022 but only now arriving in theaters and on streaming, THE LISTENER is a reflection of the boredom and loneliness millions of people felt during the Covid pandemic lockdowns. Sadly, watching it provides the same level of boredom as real life in that period, making the movie inherently unentertaining for viewers. However, the title character speaks with some compassion and sympathy for the people’s problems and the boredom and loneliness some of them feel. That said, THE LISTENER has lots of strong foul language and some brief lewd content. So, THE LISTENER is excessive.