''The Listener'' is a 2022 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...

and written by Alessandro Camon. It stars

Tessa Thompson Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the List of Theatre Communications Group member theatres, Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica ...

in the film's only on-screen role as a helpline volunteer. The film premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, and was released in the United States by

Vertical Entertainment Vertical (formerly Vertical Entertainment) is an American independent film distribution company founded by producers Rich Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. Vertical releases films across all mediums, including theatrical, video on demand, physica ...

on March 29, 2024.

Plot

Beth, a "listener" for callers to simply talk to, receives a call from a previous inmate who was just released a year ago, a man that just told his wife he doesn't love her anymore and a young woman whose abusive boyfriend wants to pimp her out which upsets Beth. Beth then receives a call from a child sex offender, and he talks about his recent actions and asks Beth personal questions about her looks, challenging her that she doesn't understand his problems and difficulties because she's "good looking" and that he is horrid, and an evolutionary failure. She soon becomes uncomfortable speaking to this individual and ends the call. As she goes through each call she receives, she uses methods to deter her vulnerability but also provides resources and encouragement to the callers.

Cast

as Beth

Voice cast

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

as Corinne *

Rebecca Hall Rebecca Maria Hall (born 3 May 1982) is an English actress and director. She made her first onscreen appearance at the age of 10 in the 1992 The Camomile Lawn (TV serial), television adaptation of ''The Camomile Lawn'', directed by her father, ...

as Laura *

Alia Shawkat Alia Martine Shawkat ( ; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her performances as Maeby Fünke in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/Netflix television sitcom ''Arrested Development'' (2003–2006; 2013–2019), Dory Sief ...

as Sharon *

Logan Marshall-Green Logan Marshall-Green (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in the television series '' 24'', ''The O.C.'', '' Traveler'', '' Dark Blue'' and ''Quarry'', as well as his roles in the films ''Devil'', ...

as Michael *

Derek Cecil Derek Cecil (born January 5, 1973) is an American actor. He played the role of Seth Grayson on the Netflix series '' House of Cards'', starred in the short-lived series '' Push, Nevada'' and '' The Beat'', and made several appearances in the seri ...

as Andy *

Blu del Barrio Blu del Barrio (born September 15, 1997) is an American actor, best known for playing Adira Tal in '' Star Trek: Discovery''. They are the first openly non-binary actor, playing the first non-binary role in ''Star Trek''. Del Barrio has studied ...

as Jinx * Ricky Velez as Ellis *

Jamie Hector Jamie Hector (born October 7, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'' and as Detective Jerry Edgar in the drama series '' Bosch''. Career Hector began acti ...

as Ray *

Casey Wilson Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. Originally known for her performances with the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe in New York City, Wilson's first major television appe ...

as Ruby * Bobby Soto as Chris

Production

''The Listener'' was directed by Buscemi from a script by Alessandro Camon. It is an American co-production between Olive Productions, Sight Unseen Pictures, and Hantz Motion Pictures.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

took place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

between August and September 2021.

Release

''The Listener'' premiered as the closing film of the

Giornate Degli Autori The Giornate degli Autori (; 'Authors' Days') or simply the Giornate, formerly also known in English as Venice Days, is an independent section of Venice Film Festival. Anac and 100autori are engaged to support and promote the Giornate. It was fou ...

section of the 2022 Venice International Film Festival on September 9, 2022. It also screened in Industry Selects section of the

2022 Toronto International Film Festival The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022. The 2022 festival was staged primarily in-person; a small selection of films were offered on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform, but this represente ...

. In February 2024,

acquired distribution rights to the film in North America, United Kingdom and Ireland, scheduling it for a day-and-date release in the United States on March 29, 2024.

Reception

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Listener 2022 drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films American drama films English-language drama films Films directed by Steve Buscemi Films shot in Los Angeles Vertical (film company) films