The Listener review – Tessa Thompson outperforms an otherwise unmemorable film
The Creed actress compels in director Steve Buscemi's first feature effort in decades, though his film falls a little on the forgettable side
The listener in The Listener has one job: to listen. It sounds simple but, as Steve Buscemi’s solemn portrait illuminates, it is a psychologically draining and exhaustively challenging line of work. Over ninety-plus minutes, mid-pandemic crisis helpline volunteer Beth (Tessa Thompson) is the only character we meet. Her job is to coax people through their darkest moments. The Listener uses this unique format not as a gimmick but to accentuate the intensity of unfolding conversations.
As a result of the aforementioned listening, this is a one-location, one-character film that entirely rests on Thompson’s shoulders. In the hands of lesser actor it could have felt like a gimmick, but Thompson is expertly poised as Beth, a naturally empathetic woman who once called the crisis team herself. Taking the feature director’s chair for the first time in nearly two decade, Buscemi delicately narrows the lens to give a peek into the life of an invisible hero.
And once the phone begins ringing insistently, it never lets up. Her calls are continuous: “Hello, this is Beth. How are you tonight?” It’s her last month on the job and as Beth settles into a night shift in her pyjamas, she listens to the problems of people all over the country: a man fresh out of prison unable to sleep; a young homeless girl trying to escape her boyfriend’s abuse; an incel imploding with pent-up rage; a drunk war veteran reeling from the horrors he’s endured. Their voices creep into her head as she quietly manages her own reactions and reaches for relevant numbers to help before they inevitably hang up.
Writer Alessandro Camon does a great job ensuring each character on the end of the line has their own sense of individuality. Additionally, despite never performing opposite another actor, Thompson brilliantly shapes her face to every word uttered down the receiver. However, as the calls get heavier in subject, Buscemi offers very little directorial variation, with static wides pushing closer as the warm glow emanates off lampshades, Beth’s dark brown eyes made into pools of conflicted emotion. The Listener’s final act teeters into being heavy-handed, and while Thompson’s indelible performance is centred, all that surrounds it becomes forgettable.
The Listener screened as part of the Tribeca Film Festival 2023. A UK release date is yet to be announced.
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