Little known director makes 'Listen' worth watching

By Laksmi Pamuntjak-Djohan

JAKARTA (JP): Title sequence. Aerial shots of San Francisco -- morning, noon, and night -- resplendent in all its angles. There is a certain snappiness about how the reel moves in a quick-cut montage to the dolby-digitalized, heavy orchestration of David Davidson's confident tune. Small wonder that the rest of the movie is just as snappy.

First scene. A woman sitting alone in a lesbian bar. She is striking. She is also unhappy. The camera zooms in on her. It catches a tear trickling down her flawless, matte, beautifully- made face. Cut.

Second scene. Another beautiful woman, the epitome of the fit, fresh, wholesome, All-American beauty, is unpacking. She's just moved into a high-rise apartment at the recommendation of her novelist boyfriend who lives in the same building. Someone catches them in the middle of a tender moment. It is the first girl. She is completely transformed -- full of smiles, and what a smile.

We learn that her name is Krista Barron (Sarah G. Buxton from TV's Sunset Beach) and her supermodel friend is Sarah Ross (Brooke Langton, TV's Melrose Place, Party of Five). We learn that they are friends and that Krista is "happy" for Sarah. Sarah flashes Krista a smile, and again, what a smile.

Third scene. Steamy sex between a faceless man and a nameless woman in an unknown place. The man leaves. Somebody walks in. We see a glimpse of a knife and a look of terror in the woman's eyes. She dies a ghastly death.

Several scenes later. Sarah steps into her apartment's elevator. Inside is a good-looking guy. He flirts with her. Nothing happens, but there is something about him that's not quite right. We find out later his name is Randy Wilkes (Joel Wyner) and that he is a sick voyeur. Meanwhile, there is seemingly another wacko in Sarah's midst -- a faceless person who is always shown watching voyeuristic movies in a seedy sex cinema.

One day, Sarah accidentally eavesdrop on a neighbor's conversation on a phone sex line. Soon she and Krista start having fun listening in and following the culprit around. But, predictably, he remains faceless.

It is only when Sarah learns that the women who answered the calls are being murdered that she knows she's in trouble. Meanwhile, sensing that her boyfriend, Jake (Gordon Currie) is drifting away from her, she succumbs to Krista and they become lovers.

Sounds familiar? Sure. The first movie that comes to mind is Phillip Noyce's voyeuristic thriller Sliver, an admirable attempt to transport Sharon Stone to even greater heights after her phenomenal success in Basic Instinct. Yet Gavin Wilding's Listen is different on so many counts.

For one, Gavin WHO? He is a little known director whose two other movie credits - The Raffle and Penny Ante: The Motion Picture - did not gain a mainstream audience. Furthermore, save for good, old, reliable Andy Romano (Under Siege 1 and its sequel, and The Fugitive) in a sideline role, the cast comprises "actors" whose brief stints in TV sitcoms are as unimpressive as their names.

Yet, Sliver's dramatic plunge into the box-office trash bin has shown that even Sharon Stone can't save a thriller, however titillating the premise. And thankfully, this is the commercial environment which has allowed prodding individuals like Wilding to thrive, so that a low-budget, low-profile murder-mystery-sex movie like Listen, which doesn't appear as the most promising of cinematic prospects, is a piece well worth watching.

The plot sounds fairly formulaic, and, to a certain extent, it is. Yet the twists are good, and the developments are pretty believable that nothing much is left out in left field. It is only rather strange that Sarah cannot recognize the voice on the phone. Plus, the introduction of a third voyeur somewhere towards the end of the movie is sluggish at best.

Listen is also not the kinetically-charged, cheesy piece of eroticism it superficially seems. Although some scenes still elicit giggles from the audience, this movie is not a vehicle for sensationalistic depictions of lesbian sex.

In fact, there's something almost beautiful in this relationship, owed in no small measure to Langton's wonderfully natural performance. While it is not the kind of acting that makes you root for them to get together, the essential tender friendship is always felt, even after Krista made her move.

On the one hand, Langton has a disquieting loveliness about her that would make it hard for audiences not to dote upon her. The fact that she comes across as neither a heroine nor a victim also makes her a refreshingly believable character. On the other hand, Sarah G. Buxton essays a tough, determined, yet understated character in Krista.

Prickly perfection

Another gem in the rough is newcomer Joel Wyner, who looks like a cross between Craig Bierko (the charismatic villain in Long Kiss Goodnight) and Nicolas Cage. He even imitates the latter's histrionics to prickly perfection.

The movie is terse, for sure. Unlike Sliver, it only skims the surface of voyeurism -- the appeal, the detriments, the encroachment, the addiction. But it is an ellipsis that works: although the movie is short on character exposition, the three characters manage to define themselves as they flow with the no- nonsense script.

At the end, Listen isn't a feminist movie either. Granted, revenge is now a big theme. Think The First Wives Club or Bound. Yet the lesbian angle is not intrinsic to it, only a mere 1990s update to make it interesting. And to give it a noir appellation would be an overkill, for Listen is neither a psychological nor an artistic milestone -- some may even consider it shallow.

Yet Wilding knows the meaning of restraint. And with so many supposedly clever movies missing the point lately, there's something to be said about those which manage to tell a mystery without getting wrapped up in hypocritical moralizing and stylistic pretensions.