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The Night Listener | 2006 | R | - 6.3.7

Psychological thriller with Robin Williams starring as a famous author and radio show host, who receives the manuscript of a book written by a boy that was used as the subject of pornographic videos by his parents. When he also gets a call from the boy, he becomes suspicious about the boy's true identity and tries to track him down. Also with Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, Rory Culkin and Joe Morton. Directed by Patrick Stettner. [1:31]

SEX/NUDITY 6 - We see nude men and women (bare buttocks, backs and male chests are evident) and it is strongly suggested that they are involved in filming pornographic scenes, and that a young boy is forced to participate (we hear that the tapes are sold on the internet). We see a woman's bare breasts in the slightly distorted images created by a kaleidoscope. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage.
 Two men who are ex-lovers kiss goodbye, and two men who are ex-lovers hug in a couple of scenes. A man admires another man as he walks away. A man's relationship with another man ends in a break up.
 A boy talks about his stepmother being a "babe." A man finds a pornographic magazine with a photo of a woman on the cover, hidden under a mattress (no detail is discernible on the cover).

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A man handcuffed in the back of a police car is tasered in the neck repeatedly by a police officer (the man writhes and yells).
 A woman collapses in a street, a truck speeds toward her, a man tries to help her up, and the woman tries to push him in front of the truck.
 A man walks through a hospital looking for a boy, he enters a room, speaks to a child, the child wakes up screaming, and the man runs away from security. We see a boy in an oxygen tent and hear that he might not live through the night.
 A man breaks into a house, climbs through a window, falls on the broken glass on the floor and a police officer discovers him. A man follows a woman through dark streets to her home. A man searches through a room and is startled when a woman enters the room. A man bumps his head on the corner of a desk (he's OK).
 We hear that a boy's lungs have been damaged by syphilis and that he is undergoing AIDS treatments. A woman tells a man that a boy has died. Two men argue.

LANGUAGE 7 - 25 F-words, 10 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for the Chinese, 3 derogatory terms for homosexuals, name-calling (weirdo), 2 religious profanities, 9 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man and a woman smoke marijuana. People drink alcohol at a party, and people drink wine at a dinner. A man smokes and a woman smokes.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Story telling, truth, fiction, mental illness, AIDS, manipulation of facts, fraud, homosexuality, heartbreak, patience, pedophilia, fear of being alone, multiple personalities, suspicion, proof.

MESSAGE - Look at things for what they are.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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