The Night Listener

A flimsy, turgid fiction based on a potentially fascinating true-life event, this explores the relationship between a gay writer and broadcaster, Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), and Pete Logand (Rory Culkin), a 14-year-old fan of his late-night radio show. Never shy about ransacking his own private life for creative inspiration, Gabriel is struck by the raw honesty of Pete’s childhood memoir. Gabriel and Pete strike up a phone relationship, but Gabriel’s semi-estranged lover, Jess (Bobby Cannavale), notices a similarity between Pete’s voice and that of his guardian, Donna (Toni Collette). Adapted from a novel by Armistead Maupin, Stettner’s film superficially explores the ways in which writers fictionalise their lives, yet reveals almost nothing about their motives. As the plot dawdles along, intrigue gives way to risible melodrama, and Patrick Stettner fails to get to grips with the issues.