A lady places in an earpiece. It buzzes and she or he accepts the decision. She talks to the caller, typically for some time, typically for only a quick minute. The decision ends, and she or he repeats the method again and again. That is actually all that occurs over the course of The Listener, however director Steve Buscemi and lead actor Tessa Thompson handle to wring one thing tense and thrilling from the easy motion of speaking and listening.
Thompson performs Beth, a volunteer at a night-time disaster helpline. On her very first name, we study that that is her last month with the road, as these nights can get particularly draining. The Listener wastes no time in exhibiting how emotionally demanding Beth’s work is because the evening goes on, immersing us in her world till we get a greater understanding of why she does what she does.
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The Listener is an intense character research of a helpline volunteer.
Tessa Thompson in “The Listener.”
Credit score: Hantz Movement Photos
Beth accepts a number of calls all through The Listener, from a previously incarcerated man speaking about life exterior jail to a younger unhoused girl worrying about her abusive boyfriend. Some callers dance round their greatest worries, others are blatantly sincere. “I am mentally ailing, let’s get that out of the way in which,” one caller opens.
We by no means see any of the callers’ faces, we simply hear their voices. (Voices embrace Rebecca Corridor, Margaret Cho, and Alia Shawkat.) Which means the whole movie is spent locked on Thompson as Beth. Thompson’s efficiency is an enthralling instance of rigidity between vocal and bodily performing. She pitches her voice up ever so barely, placing as a lot heat and friendliness as she will be able to into her phrases. However her physique betrays her true emotions — typically concern sparkles throughout her face, at the same time as she assures the caller she is not apprehensive. In a single vignette, a caller admits that he deepfaked revenge porn of a girl he know, and all Beth can do is squeeze a stress ball in response.
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Because the evening wears on, we see Beth’s facade start to slide and crack ever so barely. Her voice will deepen at her most involved moments. We study her actual title is not Beth. Later, we’ll study why she volunteers for the helpline within the first place. Thompson stays charming all through all these separate calls and all these minor adjustments, even when The Listener could overstay its welcome.
The Listener is mesmerizing, however exhausting.
Buscemi lures us right into a rhythm with The Listener, hitting us with name after name till we really feel as drained as Beth should be by the tip of her shift. The movie roots us firmly in Beth’s world the whole time, though sound at all times bleeds by from the calls to riveting impact. We won’t see what the callers appear to be, however we are able to think about the place they’re based mostly on what we hear by the earpiece.
Some calls break up the rhythm. The creep who made revenge porn brings The Listener into nightmare territory as he antagonizes Beth and makes her wildly uncomfortable. Later, a former professor debates the morality of dying by suicide, putting Beth in fairly actually a life or dying scenario.
The Listener fumbles a bit within the latter name. Right here, it begins to work towards a grand conclusion, but it surely feels too moralistic and pat for a movie that has up till now felt way more pure. Maybe it is as a result of we have already sat by so many calls by this level within the film, or maybe it is as a result of the caller begins to focus extra straight on Beth after we’ve already been in a position to infer a lot about her by her actions, however this name is the place The Listener begins to pull. It is not sufficient for The Listener to lose you solely, although. Thompson stays participating, and Buscemi switches up the situation of this name to maintain us considerably on our toes.
The Listener could tire you out with its deluge of callers and their traumas, however Thompson roots us in actuality all through. Buscemi’s route can also be efficient, as he situates totally different calls in several areas of Beth’s home with a purpose to break up the evening. Can the film’s intimate scope typically work towards it? Sure. However does it stay a transferring, fascinating piece of remoted filmmaking? Most undoubtedly.
The Listener was reviewed out of its North American premiere on the 2023 Tribeca Movie Pageant.