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Selective Listening (2014) Online

Selective Listening (2014) Online
2014 Salvatore Stella Camilla Rowland Emily Holt Tim Prescott
Original Title :
Selective Listening
Genre :
Movie / Comedy / Drama
Year :
2014
Directror :
Tim Prescott
Cast :
Salvatore Stella,Camilla Rowland,Emily Holt
Writer :
Tim Prescott,Tim Prescott
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 21min
Rating :
7.8/10

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Selective Listening (2014) Online

HARRISON, a nice guy with a history of schizophrenia battles the diverse and unpredictable voices he hears, a judgmental society and the hazards of social media as he attempts to make a new friend. In order to better manage the voices, he personifies them within his childhood toys: SMILING HERBERT contains the voice of rage; MOLLY, the voice of paranoia; BEAN represents irrepressible sexual thoughts; CONRAD speaks the bare facts; MARROW provides a constant, indecipherable mumble and MOUSEY is the sound of panic. When Harrison happens upon the philanthropic online posts of the beautiful social media addict AMBER and she blindly accepts his "chum request", Harrison sees this as the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But, is it?
Cast overview, first billed only:
Salvatore Stella Salvatore Stella - Harrison Glebe
Camilla Rowland Camilla Rowland - Amber 'Golden' Fleece
Emily Holt Emily Holt - Sharon
Philip Gyford Philip Gyford - Robin
Anne Stafford Anne Stafford - Nurse Martha Jarvis
Tim Prescott Tim Prescott - Smiling Herbert (voice)
Suzy Harvey Suzy Harvey - Molly (voice)
Colin Hubbard Colin Hubbard - Bean (voice)
Stuart D. Hall Stuart D. Hall - Conrad (voice)
Neil Tait Neil Tait - Marrow (voice)
Denise Mack Denise Mack - Traveller Woman
Andrew Holloway Andrew Holloway - Young Man
Zahra Dudziak Zahra Dudziak - Mother
Basia Dudziak Basia Dudziak - Daughter
Bipin Chapaneri Bipin Chapaneri - Indian Restaurant Manager

The film was shot in the tiny rented flat of the director, Tim Prescott, and producer, Miriam Rodriguez. As well as being transformed into the sparsely decorated flat of the protagonist, Harrison, it also served as the 13-day green room, dining area, hair & Make-up area, storage depot, DIT area, catering area, pre-production, production and post-production office (and sleeping area) for a cast and crew of over 11 people.

There were no fights. It helped to have a good sense of humour on-set.

The toys were designed by director, Tim Prescott. Often each toy had to perform different actions and so different versions of each puppet were required:

  • 3 versions of the toy Conrad were knitted by the director's aunt.
  • 4 versions of Smiling Herbert's body were sewn together by the director's mother.
  • A production line of Smiling Herbert heads were made and painted by the director.
  • 3 versions of Bean were created by production designer, Lucy Isdale.
  • 2 versions of Marrow the elephant were constructed by production designer, Daniel Mangham.
  • 4 versions of Mousey were made by the director's mother.
  • 2 versions of Molly were put together by Lucy Isdale and the director's mother.
  • "Nightmare Molly" was created during the shoot by Hair & Make-Up artist Ann Tillinghast.
  • The toilet fairy was the result of a last-minute over-the-phone brief from the director to his mother, with a special smile added on the day of the shoot by runner, Lucy Calder.

Friends and family of the producer and director appear on-screen throughout the film:

. Several friends and family appear as Amber's friends on her 'Rooftops' social media page

. Cinematographer, Phil Moreton, and 1st AC, Jack Daniel Mills, appear in a photo with Amber on her Rooftops page

. 2nd AC, Rita Conry appears, with a world-class pout, on one Rooftops photo with Amber.

Director, Tim Prescott, enlisted the voices of real-life friends Stuart D. Hall and Neil Tait as Conrad and Marrow.

The voices have their own life on Twitter:

  • Smiling Herbert: @SmilingHerbert
  • Bean: @BeanInHarrison
  • Molly: @Mollys_Voice
  • Conrad: @Conrad_Speaks.


User reviews

Cobandis

Cobandis

Bought this on Amazon the other day on a punt cuz I thought it looked different and it's quite a good little film. It's about a bloke with mental problems who lives on his own and hears voices that come out of toys. The opening of the film was pretty calm, but then the voices got introduced and it all kicked off! The actors and actresses are all new to me but are good at what they do (the bald bloke is hilarious). The two main women are very nice to look at too! It made a change to see a modern film with a sort of comedy that you don't see everywhere and maybe its because its not a mainstream release that the language was hilariously politically incorrect, but not out of order. And I liked the end. Thumbs up. Worth a watch.
Nagis

Nagis

I love finding little gems like this.

This is the third film I've seen recently about 'the voices in your head'. The first was 'The Voices' (with Ryan Reynolds) and the second was Disney's 'Inside Out'. But, thinking about it, 'Selective Listening' may be my favourite of the three.

It is a film that truly fits within the category of a comedy-drama as it is very funny throughout but held together by a serious theme. It's about a man who hears voices and so uses toys to embody them as a means of controlling them. Therefore, rather than the voices coming from nowhere, they come out of puppets that only he can see. He has one friend who doesn't treat him very well and so he uses social media to try and make new friends, but things don't go as planned.

Each voice has its own personality, like violence and paranoia. I loved the toy that was obsessed with sex! He was hilarious. There is a lot of swearing and offensive insults that might make some people cringe in polite company, but my boyfriend and I laughed all the way through and all the language feels justified because it fits within the context of the film.

There is a psychological aspect to the film because at times the voices become mixed and its unclear what is real or just in the main character's head. It made me feel sorry for the guy and impressed upon me what it must be like to hear voices, let alone be ostracised for having the affliction. But in the midst of it all I was forced into guilty laughter at what was being said.

It is one of those films that you have to watch more than once as there is so much humour and so many things going on, I could tell there were jokes hidden in the background and I sometimes missed jokes because he was laughing.

The film itself has got charm because it doesn't have a mainstream feel and, although it is apparently low-budget, it doesn't feel cheap. I didn't recognise any of the actors but they are all really good. I love the girl who is obsessed with her social media page and "film career". Her YouTube audition for a low-budget gangster film made me laugh. It has some great shots and the script is funny and original.

A funny film to watch from the outside, but I definitely wouldn't want those voices in my head! 8/10
Faegal

Faegal

"Selective listening" tells the story of a grown up man who suffers from a mental disorder and hears several voices in his head that tell him how to behave and comment on all of his actions. When he meets a seemingly nice girl online, he becomes obsessed with her and soon finds himself misunderstood and accused of being a stalker.

The movie is noticeably different than your average blockbuster. At first it feels a bit strange to see the voices, represented by dolls, take action and I was afraid that it could turn out to take the topic not serious enough. However, the humor proved to be very clever and you soon begin to emphasize with the main character, especially because your knowledge of the voices make his actions appear a lot more plausible than they'd do without it. Despite all the laughs, it gets obvious that the film also tells a very serious story that deserves to be thought through.

All in all this is a good example for how smaller films with less budget can have an impact through creative ideas and a story worth being told. It is a bit experimental and you have to get used to the style but I'd say it is worth it.
Vivados

Vivados

I want to try and be fair when writing this review so I'm not just going to berate this film completely because, to be honest, it doesn't deserve that.

With a day off work sick today I've been catching up on the films I've recorded and this one was on London Live a couple of months ago and it sounded different - a bloke with schizophrenia has to fight the voices he hears and social media to make a new friend.

The good: the acting was good, the main guy held the whole thing together well. I could watch the blonde actress for hours on end. It looked good. And it actually made me laugh quite a few times - the way they made fun of social media and the people on it was clever.

The bad: It's quite short. Less than an hour and a half. Not always bad, I guess.

The ugly: THE LANGUAGE! It's not just the swearing (I'm not a prude!) but all the insults that get thrown out by the nastiest of the voices... I couldn't believe it was allowed on TV. Talk about politically incorrect! I'm not easily offended, but wow.

Don't sit and watch it with your kids!