Who’s fooling who?

Armistead Maupin’s name is the major selling point for The Night Listener, the film version of his 2000 novel, and the plot is based on events from his life. New York radio personality Gabriel Noone has been in a relationship for 10 years with a younger man, Jess, who was seriously ill with AIDS when they got together. Now that better drug treatments have come along, Jess feels the need to explore his independence and moves out. Gabriel has built a career on spinning yarns for his late-night listeners about his life and the relationship, and his disillusionment with the break-up has extended into his work -“ his inspiration has dried up.

A publisher friend gives him a manuscript to read, supposedly written by a 14-year-old survivor of extreme sexual abuse, Pete Logand (Rory Culkin), who caught syphilis at the age of eight and is now seriously ill with AIDS. Pete is a fan of Gabriel’s radio show and they begin a phone and letter-writing relationship. Pete is now hiding out from his abusers in Wisconsin with Donna, a nurse who has adopted him. Jess becomes sceptical about Pete’s story and points out to Gabriel the similarity between the telephone voices of Pete and Donna. Are they the same person and, if so, who’s impersonating who?

Maupin co-wrote the screenplay with Terry Anderson (and director Patrick Stettner) -“ Anderson was his lover at the time and the first person to cast doubt on the veracity of the boy’s story, just like Jess in the movie. Moviegoers will be one step ahead of the characters as soon as they see Donna, played by Toni Collette. Not the subtlest of actors, Collette telegraphs Donna’s -“ shall we say -“ eccentricities so obviously that Gabriel seems an idiot for not catching on sooner. But by then the plot is shaping up as a lame thriller -“ the pace is so slow it’s hard to believe the whole thing’s over in 82 minutes. Gabriel’s trips up and down dark staircases in the Wisconsin house seem tedious rather than scary.

Gabriel is played by Robin Williams without any of his usual schtick -“ none of the ethnic and cultural stereotypes that characterise his brand of vocal humour (even in Happy Feet), none of the bug-eyed villainy of his murderous maniacs (One Hour Photo, Insomnia). Robin Williams without schtick is merely boring, and here his lifeless performance makes one wonder what Jess ever saw in him.

Bobby Cannavale has the thankless role of Jess. If you saw him in that little indie gem The Station Agent, you know what this actor is capable of, but he’s been wasted ever since, though he’s played gay in Will & Grace and Shall We Dance. Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy) is the only bright spot in the cast, appearing briefly as Gabriel’s confidante.

Fans of Maupin’s novel might be curious about the movie version, but for anyone else it’s a hard slog.