Noise (2007)

57% of critics liked it
(44 reviews)
58% of users liked it
(4,285 ratings)

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… More 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

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Henry Bean
Written By: Henry Bean
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 22, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Sep 16, 2008
Studio: ThinkFilm

Critic Reviews

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
How can you resist a hero who gets worked up because a car alarm disrupts his extremely tenuous grasp on a difficult but life altering passage of Hegel?
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Amid the seasonal din of so many raucous summer blockbusters, Noise offers blessed relief in the form of a strong central performance, sharp dialogue and edgy humor.
Jay Weissberg, Variety
Amusing but marginal.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
The black comedy Noise may be a one-joke movie but it's a resonant one.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
A tale of obsession and vigilantism cut with humor and a little Hegel, Henry Bean's Noise is a satisfyingly screwy New York story in which a successful businessman/family man jettisons all because he can't stand the cacophony on the street.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
It's wickedly amusing for a little bit, but ultimately the film becomes what it's fighting: just noise.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
Could have and should have been a demented little gem, but as it is, it's just a muddled, sloppy, and often incoherent little rant about New York...
John P. McCarthy, Boxoffice Magazine
Bean's scenario is too inconsequential to take seriously and not outlandish enough to entertain.
Lee Marshall, Screen International
Having hooked us with the tagline, director Henry Bean never seems to be sure quite where to run with it.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Even at the movie's climax, Saville wants us to keep looking at the characters
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
full of interesting motifs and symbolism, making a curious statement about detachment from one's surroundings, no matter how thrilling they may seem to outside observers.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
An entertaining comedy with dashes of sex, all served up by a top cast
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
A presumably rectifiable dilemma for urbanites needs more serious treatment.
Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
I'd hate to live in a movie world that didn't make room for weird, imperfect little movies like this.
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Noise has too many warring genres on the boil and too many thoughts jockeying for supremacy.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

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.
Jim H

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… More
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.
♥˩ƳИИ &

CAST: Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, Margarita Levieva, Gabrielle Brennan, William Baldwin, William Hurt, Maria Ballesteros DIRECTED BY: Henry Bean SUMMARY: A man who is being driven crazy by the noise in New York City decides to take vigilante action against it. MY… More
CAST: Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, Margarita Levieva, Gabrielle Brennan, William Baldwin, William Hurt, Maria Ballesteros DIRECTED BY: Henry Bean SUMMARY: A man who is being driven crazy by the noise in New York City decides to take vigilante action against it. MY THOUGHTS: "Strange, funny, & definitely different. Tim's character is a bit moronic. Not a great film, but not completely bad either. The acting is great, as it always is when it comes to Tim Robbins. I'm certain some can relate to why he's annoyed and upset, but most probably won't go to the extremes his character does."
Stella D

was this a comedy? weak. some semi interesting ideas that lacked focus and edge. barely kept my attention
Walter M

In "Noise," Dave Owen(Tim Robbins), an attorney who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, gets so distracted by the sounds of blaring car alarms that he cannot concentrate on reading Hegel or much, much more importantly, have sex with his beautiful wife(Bridget… More
In "Noise," Dave Owen(Tim Robbins), an attorney who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, gets so distracted by the sounds of blaring car alarms that he cannot concentrate on reading Hegel or much, much more importantly, have sex with his beautiful wife(Bridget Moynahan), a classical musician. Eventually, he takes to the streets with the nom du plume of the Rectifier, attacking car alarms wherever they may lurk, earning the ire of Mayor Schneer(William Hurt), until his secret is uncovered by Ekaterina(Margarita Levieva), a young journalist. "Noise" is an uneven movie that cannot decide whether it wants to be farce or straight social commentary. It does have a clear target in activists who the movie implies make mountains out of molehills. On the contrary, urban activists can do a lot of good and I saw an example of that in the Vancouver Museum with its exhibit on bicycles in the city. My question is: why car alarms? They are so 80's. Generally noise is the heartbeat of any city. And there have been "Twilight Zone" stories about guys like Dave and none of them end well(nor does the other movie where Robbins plays an urban vigilante, for that matter). And if you really want to see a New York City that is quiet, check out "I Am Legend" and think about how it got that way.
Sol C

On the positive, Tim Robbins really shines in this film. He gives a terrific performance. I loved the style of this film. Bridget Moynahan also does a good job playing his wife in the film. On the negative, I thought some of the supporting actors were miscasts. They are too over the… More
On the positive, Tim Robbins really shines in this film. He gives a terrific performance. I loved the style of this film. Bridget Moynahan also does a good job playing his wife in the film. On the negative, I thought some of the supporting actors were miscasts. They are too over the top at times. Robbins performance is the main reason to check out the film.
Lesley N

Probably the efficacy of this film depends on how much car alarms and burglar alarms and the other aural nuisances of urban existence really piss you off., especially when it's 3am and you know the owner is sleeping sound and smug several streets away. If you've ever had… More
Probably the efficacy of this film depends on how much car alarms and burglar alarms and the other aural nuisances of urban existence really piss you off., especially when it's 3am and you know the owner is sleeping sound and smug several streets away. If you've ever had your sleep disturbed in this way, you too might thoroughly enjoy watching Tim Robbins showing the damn car who's boss by taking a hammer to it. Yay, The Rectifier.
Aurelius D

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… More
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.