 |
| Images Courtesy of RBG Films LLC & Clumsy Tiger Productions LLC |
Blending neo-noir paranoia with surreal horror, Ryan
Barton-Grimley's perfectly menacing feature film is an intriguing play on
several familiar tropes. Using a parental crisis to confront trauma and
uncertainty, and then distilling the results through a nightmare that would
make David Lynch smile, this is a bold film. Featuring a haunting central
performance, shadow laced visuals, and a genuinely unique approach to a tried-and-true
formula, Listen Carefully is a remarkable independent cinematic experience.
Andy is a first-time father who has been having nightmares, stressing over raising a newborn and about his actions at his job at a local bank. When his daughter goes missing, Andy begins a perilous odyssey through an urban nightmare, guided by a mysterious voice on a baby monitor. Comparison's to After Hours are unavoidable, but Barton-Grimley infuses the "one long night" theme with above bar compositions and several genuinely creepy moments dappled throughout. The script, also written by Barton-Grimley is lean, constantly keeping the viewer guessing while simultaneously making them decide if Andy is a man who can be redeemed. While things devolve in the third act, the journey is sublime, filled with strange and memorable characters and several dreamlike sequences that only further fray the fragility of Andy's reality.
Barton-Grimley and Sean Ayer's bleak cinematography has an almost dystopian vibe that helps to reinforce the strange and almost hopeless predicament Andy is in. Oppression is perhaps the most important theme, both with respect to Andy’s decisions to escape mediocrity and with the voice on the other end of the baby monitor. Sometimes, there is simply no way out. Tight shots within the family’s apartment have an uneasy element, while the exterior shots of the city and nightlife serve as reminders of the prisons we all build around ourselves. At its core, Listen Carefully is a story that was created by a father, harnessing the fears of uncertainty into his craft as a means of catharsis and hope, and this is made real by the stalwart efforts of Barton-Grimley and his talented crew.
Now available for digital rental, Listen Carefully may seem like a "been there, done that" affair on the surface, but underneath the stylized veneer is a rather potent dissertation on how becoming a father instantly, irrevocably changes a man forever. Combining thoughtful, unnerving visuals with emotional stakes, the yield is a brisk modern fairy tale about accepting that almost everything is out of our control, and when one surrenders to this truth, they find a modicum of peace.
--Kyle Jonathan