Noise
Noise
| 06 November 2007 (USA)
Noise Trailers

A man who is being driven crazy by the noise in New York City decides to take vigilante action against it.

Reviews
Hayden Kane

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

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Derry Herrera

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

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Aneesa Wardle

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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Isbel

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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sddavis63

This is an interesting idea for a movie, as it deals with a situation we can all relate to: who hasn't, at least every now and then, faced the frustration of being awakened by a car alarm that goes off for no obvious reason in the middle of the night? Here, David (played by Tim Robbins) decides to do something about it. He becomes "The Rectifier" - a guy who goes out and does battle against all kinds of noise - mostly car alarms, but also burglar alarms on buildings, leaf blowers, etc. He smashes cars and windows and becomes a sort of vigilante hero in the process.This is an interesting study of obsession. David - as is pointed out in the movie - has a strange connection with noise. He both hates it and he loves it. He won't take the simple solution of moving to a quieter area, and in fact - after his obsession leads to him losing his family when his wife walks out on him - moves to a noisier neighbourhood. In that sense, this is about more than noise. He feels powerless to do anything, but as a vigilante he finds a way to give himself a sense of power. In a way there's also an interesting reflection on addiction. How many people simply can't get away from something they're addicted to even though they know there are serious consequences involved? Had the movie chosen to treat this more seriously - even if done, as it was, with a certain comic undertone to it - it would have been even better. Unfortunately, there were some problems with the story and how it was told.Essentially it begins with David being identified as The Rectifier by a reporter who wants his story, so it mostly gets told in the increasingly cliché flashback style. The movie also weakens significantly when it introduces the petition angle - David decides to go for a petition to put an initiative on the ballot to ban car alarms. The fun of the movie was in him working outside the system, although I recognize the irony that ultimately came from this when the system was used against him to crush the ballot initiative. Still, David was far more interesting as a vigilante. There are also too many unnecessary characters who entangle David in unnecessary relationships (for example, the threesome served no plot purpose that I could discern!) and ultimately distract from the movie's basic point.Nevertheless, this is both interesting and relevant to modern viewers - and their ears, even if the story might have been better told. 7/10

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Greatornot

I expect nothing but the best from Tim Robbins. Another environmental awareness movie that delivers. This time the pollution is ....... NOISE. I guess the title gives it away. This was a well scripted film that played more of an intimate nature. Watching this , one can get the feeling they are at a small playhouse. Camera angles were excellent. Tim Robbins is for all intent purposes a good person with good moral values , a family man that loves his wife and daughter. For some reason though he is obsessed with unexplainable noises , mostly car alarms that do not go off. He is a noise vigilante and even has a name for himself, that I will not divulge here. Its an intellectual film that is refreshing ,original and creative . Along the way, Mr. Robbins meets supporters and detractors and the plot goes from there. Is he crazy? Is he a hero? ETC. That is the beauty of this film , leading to , what I feel, a wonderful ending that opens up the Pandoras Box for many other questions and discussions. It is a movie that stays with you . My criticisms might be that there were lagging parts of the film lasting from 3-7 or 8 minutes , at a few points in the movie. I also did not exactly care for the back and forth in time frames. If anything , the viewer should have been let in on what made Mr. Robbins tick. Maybe a childhood traumatic experience, screaming parents etc. Still with its few faults this is a well done movie and one that people can actually learn and exercise your mind over a cup of java at a new age , trendy coffee shop or having dinner at a sushi bar.

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Neil Turner

Noise is about a man suffering a mid-life crisis, but this crisis doesn't play itself out as an affair or the purchase of a sports car or boat. Instead, David, our protagonist, exhibits his crisis in the form of an all-out attack upon noise.David and his wife, Helen are dyed-in-the-wool New Yorkers. She is a musician and he is a successful businessman. They love the city and would never consider leaving, but David is becoming increasingly aware of the noises around him. Sounds that one comes to accept as natural in city life have started to grate upon his nerves and his sense of right and wrong. The utmost villain in David's life is the car alarm.In New York City, there is an ordinance against car alarms sounding for longer than a couple of minutes, but the law is basically ignored by the police causing the public to be victims of the noise. David decides that he will no longer play the role of victim and goes through his neighborhood with a baseball bat smashing any car alarming. He is eventually arrested and goes before a judge who does not approve but is forgiving. David is warned that if he continues his crusade, he will be jailed.Just as it is difficult for a man approaching his later years to give up his beautiful lover or his shiny sports car, David cannot give up his obsession with noise. His campaign is eventually noticed by the press and the mysterious avenger soon becomes a champion of the people much to the chagrin of the unsympathetic mayor of New York. David's mania eventually leads to misfortune.Tim Robbins stars as David, and he is perfect for the part combining just the right amount of drama and humor to make you believe that his character is a real person. Movie fans are very lucky that Robbins and his partner, Susan Sarandon takes parts in little films such as this for their considerable acting talents certainly all to the value of films.The uptight mayor is beautifully played by William Hurt in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek performance that delights.It is interesting to note that Noise is fairly autobiographical of writer/director, Henry Bean's life. He is, indeed, a New Yorker who went on a smashing spree against car alarms and was eventually jailed.Noise is an enjoyable dark comedy with a valid message. The message is serious but the wit of the piece makes its delivery a very entertaining hour and a half.

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gkeith-russell

Hey, this is a great film to watch on a long haul flight. The existential drama is more play than film, more essay than story, but it has its attractions. The project maybe anarchic but in the end normality is restored, the individual is better adjusted and the danger of action has been accommodated within the everyday world. It could be a mature taste is needed, it could be that the subtle attractions of an anti-hero who is struggling with Hegel, but, somewhere in this cultural density, there are views of sexuality that shift attention from the repressed to the expressed. The same goes for middle age rage. And anyway, Robbins is at his best as a Camus styled man of his time.

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