51
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsWilliams delivers a solid, twinkle-free (though closed-off) performance, but the film as a whole can't decide what it wants to be.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttPlays like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller but is nevertheless a movie of ideas. It bristles with intriguing thoughts about the realm of fiction, how one loves, issues of identity and questions concerning how one transfers a real-life incident into big-screen fiction. This is a film that can crawl inside your skin.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceEven when the script overstates the obvious, Stettner mines every nuance of unease from the head games between Williams and the unnerving Collette, who embodies the moment passive aggression stops being passive.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovIt's unlike anything else out now, and Williams, to his credit and our immense relief, has for the moment foresworn his usual giddiness in favor of a muted, hunched acting style that befits both the character of Noone and the overall tone of the film.
- 50VarietyDavid RooneyVarietyDavid RooneyAiming for unsettling atmosphere over character definition, the dawdling mystery thriller manages to flatten two protagonists that had far more depth in the novel.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyIs The Night Listener a wintry drama with a few schlocky jolts, or an underdone psychological thriller straining for some dramatic heft on the side? Hard to tell, but either way, the movie doesn't cohere.
- 50L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorAs a performer, Robin Williams has a wonderfully volatile range; as an actor, he commutes uneasily between over-sincere and over-sinister. Both modes are on full monochromatic display in this stolid noir thriller.
- 50New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsCasting Williams in this thriller, adapted from Armistead Maupin's novel, was a bigger mistake than the actor's performance.
- 40Film ThreatFilm ThreatBy the time the credits rolled I was bored rather than stunned by the revelations within the movie and I just want these type of reversal/twist movies to get better, or go away.
- 30Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDepressed and depressing drama.