Robin Williams' Forgotten 2006 Psychological Thriller Has A Chilling Premise

This post contains spoilers for "The Night Listener."

Tragic memoirs can be a highly profitable business for those who write them, but over the years, that's unfortunately led to some bad actors writing fake (or partially fake) autobiographical tall tales. After Oprah picked James Frey's heartbreaking alleged memoir "A Million Little Pieces" for her book club in 2005, it was discovered that he had largely falsified the story. Suffice it to say, this led to readers, in general, becoming a bit more jaded to fake stories of extreme woe.

The somewhat forgotten 2006 Robin Williams-starring film "The Night Listener" revolves around a similar concept. It centers on Gabriel Noone (Williams), a popular gay radio host who is given a memoir written by Pete Logand, an AIDS-positive teenage boy who was horrifically sexually abused by his parents. Noone ends up reaching out to the boy and his adoptive mother, Donna (Toni Collette), and becoming close to them while talking over the phone, but all is not as it appears to be.

"The Night Listener" was directed by Patrick Stettner, who is best known for writing and directing the Stockard Channing-starring "The Business of Strangers." It was based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Armistead Maupin, who drew from his own experiences with a fraudster memoirist. In the book and film, Noone eventually discovers that not only is the disturbing memoir completely fake but that Pete never even existed, with Donna pretending to be him during those phone conversations with Noone. She even feigns at being blind, revealing that she's capable of even more heinous lies.

While Robin Williams is best known for his comedic movies and starring in family favorites like the 1992 animated version of "Aladdin" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," he also starred in some deeply disturbing thrillers over the years. The best of those (like "One Hour Photo," a film that Williams was uniquely qualified for) have managed to stand the test of time despite being so unsettling, but "The Night Listener" and its upsetting premise have mostly been forgotten.

Indeed, "The Night Listener" wasn't a big hit with audiences or critics (it only holds a 40% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed roughly $10.7 million at the box office), and Stettner hasn't directed anything since. Thankfully, there are a handful of other super dark Robin Williams movies for those of us who love the actor but appreciate his slightly more macabre side. As for "The Night Listener?" With a story as strange and unsettling as this one has, it might be time for this film to get some sort of remake.