United States Of Tara

I rushed through the final four episodes of Toni Collette's new Showtime star vehicle, United States Of Tara this morning and I've got to say that in spite of its flaw, I've enjoyed all twelve episodes immensely.  Collette plays Tara, a 35 year-old wife and mother with dissociative identity dissorder and whom, at the most inconvenient of times, is prone to slip into one of several personalities: T, a rambunctious 16 year-old, Buck, a beer-guzzling homophobic male and Alice, a prim and proper housewife.

What makes the show more than just a gimmick is its strong supporting cast.  Tara is surrounded by a loving, suitably dysfunctional family: her husband Max (John Corbett), daughter Kate (Brie Larson), gay son Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) and sister (Rosemarie DeWitt).  Each has their own story, which helps this to feel more like an ensemble drama rather than a star vehicle for Collette.  Created by Juno's Oscar-winning scriptwriter Diablo Cody, some of the arch, affected dialogue of that film has filtered through.  Kate and Marshall especially often come out with expressions that seem too adult or unrealistic.  Thankfully, this is tempered by the writers' keen observations of the family unit and a hefty dose of heartfelt sentiment that gives the show the kind of genuine warmth that Juno was lacking.

Although Collette is impressive in the central role, once we've seen all of her alternative personalities (or "alters") she doesn't have much else to show.  She's not bad by a long stretch.  The way her body movement and facial expressions change whenever she transitions into one of the alters is fun, clever even.  But her performance doesn't have the same subtlety that, say, Michael C. Hall exhibits in Dexter, another Showtime series where the protagonist/antagonist (depending upon which way you look at it) is required to play more than one version of themselves.  The real breakout star is bound to be Keir Gilchrist, whose romancing of Jason, a bi-curious pastor's son is the series' sweetest, most finely-written and acted storyline.  The marvellous Rosemarie DeWitt, so fantastic in both Mad Men and Rachel Is Getting Married, also brings an enormous amount of depth to her discordant relationship with Tara.

Some of the dialogue may grate and the soundtrack might veer a little bit too close to whimsy for some people's tastes, but this is an adorable, occassionally very funny drama series that easily transgresses its gimmicky central concept.

The Night Listener

A turgid thriller based on a potentially fascinating story. Adapted from Amistead Maupin's autobiographical novel of the same name, The Night Listener tells of a gay radio broadcaster, Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams), who is sent a disturbing memoir. It tells of the extensive sexual abuse suffered by Peter Logand (Rory Culkin), a fourteen year-old boy with AIDS now living with a social worker, Donna (Toni Collette). Gabriel begins to talk to Peter over the phone and quickly becomes attached to the boy and to his tragic story, and the relationship takes on a creepy co-dependent air in the wake of Gabriel's long-term boyfriend Jess (HIV-positive and intent on living his life to the full) moving out of the house. When Jess notices the similarity between Peter's voice and Donna's, and when it transpires that nobody besides Donna has ever seen Peter, Gabriel becomes suspicious.

In spite of its interesting subject matter, Patrick Stettner's film is almost a complete failure. Anyone who is familiar with the real-life story upon which this is based or has simply seen the trailer will hardly be surprised by the "twist" in the story. This wouldn't be a problem if The Night Listener had anything else to say but any commentary on the nature of the relationship between Gabriel and Peter is lost in a half-baked thriller that doesn't go anywhere. Robin Williams delivers a restrained performance but the usually reliable Toni Collette hams it up something awful. Flat, dull and, in the end, rather pointless.