There are many illnesses born in the mind of man which have been given life in modern times. Constant vigilance or accrued information in the realm of Pyschosis, have kept psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists busy with enough work to last them decades. Occasionally, some of these mental phenomenon are discover by those with no knowledge of their remedy or even of their existence. That is the premise of the film entitled " The Night Listner." It tells the story of a popular radio host called Gabriel Noon (Robin Williams) who spends his evenings enthralling his audiences with vivid stories about Gay lifestyles. Perhaps its because his show is losing it's authentic veneer which causes Noon to admit he is no longer himself. Feeling abandoned by both his lover Jess (Bobby Cannavale) and his and best friend (Joe Morton),he seeks shelter in his deepening despair and isolation. It is here, a mysterious voice in the night asks him for help. Noon needs to feel useful and reaches out to the desperate voice which belongs to a 14 year old boy called Peter (Rory Culkin). In reading the boy's harrowing manuscript which depicts the early life and sexual abuse at the hands of his brutal parents, Noon is captivated and wants to help. However, things are not what they seem and Noon soon finds himself en-wrapped in an elusive and bizarre tale torn right out of a medical nightmare. This movie is pure Robin Williams and were it not for Toni Collette who plays Donna D. Logand, Sandra Oh as Anna and John Cullum as pop, this might be comical. Instead, this may prove to be one of William's more serious performances. ***

In which Robin Williams, playing a radio DJ, discovers that one of his listeners may not be who he appears to be. This is a creepy drama, extremely understated to the point of being slightly dull, which plays out its story – supposedly based on a true-life tale – with a strong psychological slant. Williams plays a man with his own personal demons, having recently split up with his boyfriend and asking questions about his own beliefs and existence. Into his life comes Toni Collette, a woman who's adopted a boy recently rescued from his child abusing parents.

There isn't a great deal more to the story than that. This is effectively a mood piece, focusing throughout on the mystery of the situation and building up the drama as Williams attempts to uncover the truth about the boy's existence. Supporting roles in the story are given to Joe Morton (still instantly recognisable from his role as Miles Dyson in TERMINATOR 2) and Rory Culkin (Macauley's brother),but the brunt of the screen time is given over to Williams and Collette. Williams, once again playing a likable, damaged type of personality, provides a strong centrepiece for the movie and Collette is excellent as the adoptive mother, better than I've seen her in anything else. This quiet, subdued movie may not be one that sticks in the mind but I enjoyed it nonetheless for its quirkiness and atmosphere.

Gabriel No one (Robin Williams) is a late night talk radio DJ in NYC. His partner Jess (Bobby Cannavale) leaves him. He is given a memoir written by Pete Logand (Rory Culkin) about his sexual abuses who has AIDS and adopted by social worker Donna Logand (Toni Collette). As he grows closer to Pete and Donna over the phone, he starts to wonder whether the two voices are actually the same person. He uses the return address to track them down but what he finds raises even more questions.

It has an interesting premise with a moody atmosphere. However it doesn't have any drama. There is no danger for Gabriel. The mystery is slightly interesting but in the end, it's meaningless without tension. It's like a slightly spooky story told by a radio DJ in a darken studio that isn't actually scary.