Tessa Thompson Has Total Command with The Listener

Ever wonder who the people are on the other end of a helpline?  Are they sane? Or are they just lonely individuals needing to fill time helping others while taking focus off their own lives. Directed by Steve Buscemi, Beth (Tessa Thompson) is a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army that gets on the phone every night across America, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken, hopeless.

Over the last year, the tide has become a tsunami. As Beth goes through her shift, the stakes rise: is this the night she will lose someone? Save someone? Eventually, Beth’s own story comes to light, revealing why she does it. All along we remain with her listening, comforting, connecting and patching the world back together –  one stitch at a time.

This film does not work without the calm, comforting, reassuring presence of Thompson making her perfect for this part in a performance that is impressively restrained.  The nature of one person  on screen will be challenging for viewers, but not anymore challenging than watching Tom Hanks in ‘Cast Away’ talking to a volleyball named Wilson.

To Buscemi’s credit, Beth never stays stagnant. She’s either drawing, pacing or standing outside on the porch.  However, the actors portraying the callers are even more challenged.  Unlike Thompson, we rely on drama inflected only heard through the sound of their voices without the luxury of watching them physically inhabit their roles. Each and every one is absoluetly stellar.

So, the answer to my original question as to why would someone take on this type of job as a helpline is that unhappiness is always ashamed at itself. So, someone like Beth, who has experienced her fare share of desperation, depression, isolation and loneliness would become a helpline volunteer to provide an outlet for all of these issues.  Who know?  Maybe she will be the rainbow in an otherwise mentally and emotionally torturous moment in a life hanging by a thread.