Film

Listen

Name: Listen
Genre: Drama
Released: 2020
Cast: Lúcia Moniz, Ruben Garcia, Maisie Sly, James Felner, Sophia Myles

Social drama
Very dark

A 73-minute drama following a Portuguese immigrant family in London fighting to stay together when social services intervenes over a misunderstanding involving their deaf daughter. Intimate and unglamorous, it's a portrait of how bureaucracy and cultural disconnection can fracture lives. For anyone interested in immigration, disability representation, and the quiet desperation of working-poor families.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a close, unshowy look at a family's daily strain, where the tension builds from everyday conversations and quiet pressure rather than from big set pieces.

Skip it if you need plot momentum and clear-cut characters to root against, since this is mostly patient observation and the bureaucracy moves slowly, so restlessness is likely.

What it asks of you: Expect a lean, observational rhythm across its 73 minutes, one that lets faces and silences carry weight and never hurries to fill the gaps.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

I, Daniel Blake2016

Ken Loach's masterpiece about navigating welfare systems that seem designed to break you. Raw, angry, and urgently human—it shares Listen's refusal to look away from systemic cruelty.

But Bleak and repetitive by design. If you're watching for uplift or resolution, this will exhaust rather than move you.

Minari2021

A Korean-American family's struggle to build a life in Arkansas. Like Listen, it's tender and unsentimental about immigration, class, and the gap between aspiration and survival.

But Paced slowly and deliberately. The emotional payoff is quiet—some viewers find that distance from their feelings frustrating.

The Farewell2019

Family, cultural displacement, and what gets lost in translation. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, with Awkwafina delivering a career-best performance about belonging nowhere and everywhere.

But Tonal shifts between comedy and melancholy may feel jarring if you're expecting one or the other consistently.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Listen

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Killing2011

Both examine how institutions designed to protect (social services, police) can become weapons against the vulnerable. Process becomes cruelty.

Danish noir about a murder investigation, but really about institutional machinery grinding through human lives. Like Listen, it's obsessed with systems—legal, social, bureaucratic—and how they crush individuals. A completely different genre that shares the same moral DNA.

But Addictive and grim; 20 episodes is a commitment. Darkness accumulates and doesn't lift. Many viewers find the sustained bleakness exhausting.

Moonlight2016

Three chapters of a Black man's life in poverty and isolation. Visually gorgeous but thematically aligned with Listen: how systems and circumstance shape identity and survival.

But Extremely slow-paced and elliptical. Dialogue is sparse; you have to read subtext to know what's happening.

American Factory2019

Documentary following a Chinese factory opening in Ohio. Like Listen, it captures class struggle, cultural friction, and the grinding reality of working families without easy answers or villains.

But Can feel didactic. Some scenes lean heavily on message rather than letting complexity breathe.

First Generation2011

Portuguese director João Canijo's own film about Portuguese immigrants in Europe. Stylistically rough and determinedly unpolished—Listen's closest formal cousin.

But Limited distribution outside festivals and specialist cinemas. You may need to hunt for it.

The Florida Project2017

Children and poverty on the outskirts of Disney World. Handmade feel, documentary-like observation, and refusal to sentimentalize working-class struggle. The same eye for detail that Listen has.

But Centred on children's play rather than plot. Some find that lack of narrative momentum grating.

A Ghost Story2017

A meditation on loss, place, and time after death. Formally experimental but emotionally devastating. Like Listen, it examines belonging and what we leave behind.

But Surreal and metaphysical. If you want realism, this retreats into abstraction when you least expect it.

Waves2019

A Black family in Florida fractures under the weight of parental expectation and trauma. Visually bold, emotionally bruising, and genuinely interested in how families survive crisis.

But Uses stylistic flourishes (split screen, music videos) that can feel overextended and sometimes distract from the story.

Petite Maman2021

Both centre on deaf or disabled family members as catalysts for exploring what family is. But where Listen is brutal realism, this is tender fantasy—same theme, opposite temperature.

A French film about a girl meeting her mother as a child. Magical realism, but its heart is about family burden and what parents owe their children—the inverse of Listen's perspective. Gentle where Listen is harsh, but asking the same questions.

But Only 72 minutes and feels slight. Some viewers want more substance; others find its brevity makes emotional impact feel thin.