Listen Carefully review
A stressed-out father must follow the instructions coming through a baby monitor if he ever wants to see his child again.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Listen Carefully
Directed by Ryan Barton-Grimley
Written by Ryan Barton-Grimley
Starring Ryan Barton-Grimley and Ari Schneider
Listen Carefully Review
Listen Carefully tells a great story. It isn’t necessarily the story we’re watching…at least on the surface. Unfortunately, that means we aren’t going to discuss the film’s most clever move in this review. No spoilers, and all that. Just know that while you are watching a desperate, stressed-out father searching for his missing baby…Listen Carefully is telling a story that is more than meets the eye. Great for the movie…tough for the non-spoiler review.
Andy McNeary (Ryan Barton-Grimley) is under a lot of pressure. He’s plagued by nightmares. His job as an assistant bank manager is dumping extra work onto his desk. The constant concerns that accompany parenting a newborn baby weigh heavily on him. And, if that wasn’t enough, that newborn baby has just been kidnapped. Her captor contacts him over the baby monitor…and tells him he must follow his instructions if he ever wants to see his child again.
The majority of Listen Carefully is spent following Andy’s quest to find his daughter. The voice on the monitor wants money, of course. Andy’s job makes him an easy target for extortion. He has access to company funds. Funds he can access with his company card at any ATM. His mission is to gather 250 thousand dollars to buy back his daughter’s freedom. Obviously, everything isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Listen Carefully begins by showing us a nightmare Andy is having. He’s being stalked by hooded figures wearing creepy baby masks. It’s clear from the start that Andy is close to unraveling. Between his job and the baby…he’s as stressed out as a person can be. He does his best to not let on that he’s cracking. When his wife has the opportunity to go out with friends for an evening…he stays back to care for the baby. She’s a bit apprehensive about it…but Andy assures her that he, the baby, and their new owl shaped baby monitor will be fine.
He loses the baby almost immediately. Having drifted off to sleep and into another stress-induced nightmare, Andy awakens to find a silent baby monitor…and an empty crib. Now his real nightmare has begun. His wife calls to check in on Andy and the baby after the kidnapper has contacted him with his demands. Andy lies, of course, telling her that everything is fine. What else can he do? He was told not to contact anyone…just go get the money.
Getting the money involves heading back into the office to collect another bank card. The one he has on him gives him fits on his first attempt. This should be an easy snatch and run…and it would have been if not for an oddly committed janitor. Andy knows that embezzling company finances will likely send him to jail, not to mention cost him his job…but what option does he have? Really there should be some grace given for your actions when your baby is being held to ransom…but Andy isn’t thinking that far ahead. Just another work-related stress to compound his ongoing issues.
Either way, Andy soldiers on against a ticking clock…growing more desperate at each passing second. New stresses begin to pile up. A nosy cop with a child of their own on the way inquires about the baby monitor Andy prays doesn’t activate during their conversation. Eventually, Andy’s nightmares begin to bleed into his night…adding a surreal bent to an already high-stress situation. Ryan Barton-Grimley plays Andy as an everyman who finds himself way over his head. There is no John Wick like fantasy to play out. Just an overworked, exhausted regular guy caught in a terrible situation.
As mentioned, Listen Carefully has more to it than it first appears. The story of a desperate man under the thumb of an unseen antagonist is solid. The nightmare imagery adds to it as Andy’s night continues to spiral. Then there is the aspect of Listen Carefully that we aren’t going to talk about here. The idea that brings all the film’s themes together. The movie may not be as white-knuckled as it needs to be to make as exciting thriller as possible…but Listen Carefully has something else on its mind. Something that it brings home very effectively in its final moments. Even if there are one or two too many false finishes before the ending gets there.
Scare Value
The best aspect of Listen Carefully is something that we can’t talk about here. It’s hinted at early on…and pays off big time by the end. What happens in between is a fine minimalist thriller with high stakes and good energy. The pressure of being a new dad is enough without added stress from work and…oh yeah…a kidnapping to deal with. Listen Carefully focuses on the last one…but it’s always about the sum of all part.
3/5
