Noise

Critics Consensus

Noise starts with an interesting premise, but fails to build it into a cohesive whole.

58%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 45

60%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 4,435
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Movie Info

Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, and William Hurt star in writer/director Henry Bean's topical urban comedy following one man's quest for a little peace and quiet in the big city. The noise was bothersome when David Owen (Robbins) first moved to New York City, but back in those early days it was almost endearing in an odd sort of way; a forgivable manifestation of urban vitality, or so he had led himself to believe. These days the incessant barking of car alarms, traffic, and frustrated commuters seems to be driving David insane, never allowing him the opportunity to concentrate or focus on the task at hand. While this distraction is at first only bothersome on a superficial level, however, the thing that really riles David is that he is completely powerless to remedy the problem. As the days go on and the noise on the street seems to amplify in David's ears, he makes the decision to take up arms against the unseen intruder. Initially, David is content to simply let the air out of tires or leave notes on windshields when the owners of cars fail to turn off their alarms. When this approach fails to yield acceptable results, David's subversive urban sabotage techniques quickly evolve into full-blown acts of vandalism. Eventually, David is caught in the act and arrested by the police. After spending a night in jail, David confesses to his wife that he is in fact the urban folk hero who has come to be known by the public as "The Rectifier" for his repeated attempts to hold those responsible for urban noise pollution accountable for their auditory transgressions. When his wife voices concern about such extreme and irrational behavior, David dutifully agrees to give up his career as a noise-fighting vigilante. But try as he might, David simply cannot repress his lingering urge to strike back against such a formidable enemy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
  • Rating:
    R
  • Genre:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Directed By:
    Henry Bean
  • Written By:
    Henry Bean
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    ThinkFilm

Cast

Tim Robbins
as David Owen
Bridget Moynahan
as Helen Owen
William Hurt
as Mayor Schneer
William Baldwin
Margarita Levieva
as Ekaterina
Gabrielle Brennan
María Ballesteros
as Gruska
Keir O'Donnell
Jessica Almasy
Ramón Fernández
Maryam Myika Day
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Critic Reviews for Noise

All Critics (45) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (19)

View All Critic Reviews (45)

Audience Reviews for Noise

  • Mar 03, 2012
    A little comedic gem that asks "what bothers you about society" and then " why aren't you fighting against it?" Not laugh out loud funny, but certainly an interesting afternoon.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
  • Oct 07, 2010
    Netflix identifies this as a comedy, but there wasn't a funny frame in the whole film. Even as a dramatic film, it's muddled, as though the director and writer didn't know what the film was about. At the end, neither do I. We're given no reason for Owen's eventual transformation or his obsession, and the motivations of the women around him are equally mysterious. In the end, this is the poorest imitation of Taxi Driver that could possibly be concocted. Although, despite the bad hair piece, William Hurt flawlessly transforms himself into the smarmy, impossible-to-like mayor. Yet another great performance by Hurt in a poor film.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
  • Apr 10, 2010
    a interesting role for tim robbins, playing a guy, who cant stand th noises coming from his city, particulary car alarms, so takes it on his own authority to do something about it, going out, and silencing them himself, of course getting him self in trouble, and ruining his family life in process, a good story is told, and his journey, is followed nicely, the film brings up some interesting points and later on towards end, burocracy in action, a well told story
    scott g Super Reviewer
  • Mar 15, 2010
    The social commentary in this movie is brilliant. You got Tim Robbins as the normal every day guy who gets tired of noise. Car alarms are the thing that really sets him off. We have all been there, some jack off has an annoying car alarm and it always goes off but yet nobody cares and it runs for up to 3 minutes before it finally shuts off. At this point you're hoping someone does steal it just to get it away so you don't have to hear it anymore. But back to the important stuff. This movie follows Tim's crusade against the annoying noise that comes with living in a big city. Personally was just another reminder of why NOT to live in a big city because there is all that stuff to deal with. It's a relateable movie although I found myself hating the character of his wife. She was a real piece of work. I found watching his character grow and become more focused and meaningful throughout the movie really made it something special. Watching his early days breaking windows to cut the battery cable all the way to striving to find a more real solution is fun to watch.
    Aurelius D Super Reviewer
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