The Listener

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The Listener

Released Mar 29, 2024

1h 36m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

74%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Tessa Thompson as Beth, a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army that gets on the phone every night across America, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken, hopeless. Over the last year, the tide has become a tsunami. As Beth goes through her shift, the stakes rise: is this the night she will lose someone? Save someone? Eventually, Beth's own story comes to light, revealing why she does it. All along we remain with her: listening, comforting, connecting -- patching the world back together, one stitch at a time.

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Amy Nicholson

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

A very small film that feels like Steve Buscemi trying to gain his confidence behind the camera, but it doesn't really work out.

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

Buscemi and Thompson utilize the complementary power of stillness and the close-up to create a portrait of a woman who hears so much and divulges so little.

Apr 1, 2024

Full Review

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

While "The Listener" has the feel of a one-act play, that’s easily forgiven when the performer on the stage is this refined, and the filmmaking here is solid without ever being showy.

Jun 15, 2023

Full Review

Carla Renata

The Curvy Film Critic

If you love a good thriller along the lines of the Hitchcock classic SORRY WRONG NUMBER - you are going to love The Listener

May 7, 2024

Full Review

Ruth Maramis

FlixChatter Film Blog

Thompson is magnetic here and in a busy world with so many action-packed yet often hollow movies, it’s refreshing to see one that offers a brief escape from life’s noise.

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 8, 2024

Full Review

Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

Despite some of Beth’s haunting confessions, by the end of The Listener, I felt personally comforted by Thompson, and I can think of worse things.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

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Melissa M

Watch until the end. I watched the first 60 minutes and was falling asleep--I was so bored, I cut it off. BUT, I really wanted to give it a chance, so the next night I finished it, and the end was surprisingly good! The calls individually may not have been wildly entertaining, but the moral/point of the movie was thought provoking and I appreciated it. As a parent of a teen/young adult child who struggles with suicide ideation, depression, and anxiety, I had to take a step back and look at the film from a different lense. It was then, I felt sorry for the callers and the protagonist, "Beth" (Tessa T.), and again really appreciated the lesson here, that life is worth living. I would probably not watch it again, but it had an overall good point and I would suggest giving it a chance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/25

Full Review

Audience Member

This film to me is outstanding, It’s got a compassionate feel, I think that there’s a lot of symbolism, the level of understanding portrayed is good, the different perspectives and circumstances each caller is experiencing and expressing. I was honestly really shocked by the rating I thought it would be much higher.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/25

Full Review

Hans C

Not everyone will be able to appreciate this film. If you’ve been through anxiety, depression, a hard situation, it will hit differently. Tessa makes an excellent job

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/06/25

Full Review

Stephen P

The first episode was so promising and I thought I was going to be hooked. Unfortunately this then descends into a lot of poorly constructed nonsense. The story line scrambles to create a credible ending to what started off so well. By the end I no longer cared about any of the characters and just wanted it to come to an end. The ending itself was poor in the extreme. Such a waste of some great acting talent.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/21/24

Full Review

Stan H

Thought this would be one of those movies where the operator on an emergency call line spends the entire movie trying to help out someone on the other end in a desperate situation. It's not that. This help line worker on a night shift has to interact with a bunch of callers with very different problems. So, we see her and we just hear the voices of her callers. Those faceless actors do a very good job of acting. Small film, but interesting and entertaining.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

Full Review

Jasmen W

Boring and drawn out nothing happens

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

Full Review

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Steve Buscemi

Director

Tessa Thompson

Beth

Logan Marshall-Green

Michael

Derek Cecil

Actor

Margaret Cho

Corinne

Blu del Barrio

Jinx

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The Listener: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Tessa Thompson as Beth, a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army that gets on the phone every night across America, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken, hopeless. Over the last year, the tide has become a tsunami. As Beth goes through her shift, the stakes rise: is this the night she will lose someone? Save someone? Eventually, Beth's own story comes to light, revealing why she does it. All along we remain with her: listening, comforting, connecting -- patching the world back together, one stitch at a time.

Director: Steve Buscemi
Producer: Wren Arthur, Steve Buscemi, Oren Moverman, Lauren Hantz, Tessa Thompson
Screenwriter: Alessandro Camon
Distributor: Vertical
Production Co: Hantz Motion Pictures, Sight Unseen Pictures, Olive Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 29, 2024
Runtime: 1h 36m

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