The Whisper Man: A relic of Netflix’s mass-produced mediocrity

Netflix has garnered a widespread reputation for creating extremely generic content with its one-formula-fits-all approach, as its titles are mostly designed for broad, passive consumption. Its recently released crime thriller, The Whisper Man, initially set the expectation of being something different, with a star-studded cast of Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan. But as the plot unfolds, the slow pace, the weak storyline, the subpar acting and the no-brainer moments end up frustrating the audience.

The original plot did set a strong premise for the film to build on — it was adapted from Alex North's bestselling novel of the same title — but the execution was an utter flop. The story starts with a boy named Neil Spencer reported missing. As the police try to locate him, they discover the skeletal remains of a boy near Neil's age, with his t-shirt wrapped around his face.

Clearly shaken, Detective Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) reaches out to retired detective Peter Willis, who captured the notorious serial killer Frank Carter, or "The Whisper Man", two decades back, as the staging of the recent murder emulates his style. Peter refuses to get involved. Later, Neil's body is recovered in the same manner.

Meanwhile, a recently widowed crime thriller writer, Tom Kennedy, moves to the very same town with his six-year-old son, Jake. As they both cope with loss and grief while trying to find a way to move on with life, things start going south. Tom notices a blue-gloved hand sticking out of the mail slot in the middle of the night, and hears Jake singing the Whisper Man rhyme.

To make matters worse, Jake has a new imaginary friend — a girl in a blue sweater. Right after Tom gets drunk and crashes out on Jake, the boy is reported missing. In utter hopelessness and desperation, Tom connects with his estranged father, who happens to be Peter, and demands his help to find him. Peter teams up with Amanda in search of his grandson.

If you wish to watch a nail-biting, pulsating thriller, Robert De Niro's The Whisper Man is definitely not it. But if you wish to watch something before bed that might put you to sleep quicker, you may give Netflix's star studded snooze a go.

The film tries to explore turbulent father-son relationships alongside unravelling the mystery, but the emotional gravity of the scenes that were supposed to be heartfelt revelations ends up being surface-level, perhaps due to poor execution and timing.

The chemistry between Robert De Niro and Adam Scott feels quite flat. Be it the moment where Peter reveals he was Mr. Night, or their initial meeting, none of the father-son moments that were supposed to carry the weight of the film left much impact on the audience.

Even though De Niro somehow does a decent job in his role as a father — managing to bring a faulty, guilt-ridden but loving father to life on screen — Scott completely misses the mark. His character lacked the emotional range required to portray a father who lost his son. He just seemed angry, sad and borderline stupid on screen. In contrast, the relationship dynamic between Frank and his son would have brought much more weight to the plot had it been properly developed.

Michael Keaton as Frank Carter, on the other hand, was a treat to watch. His subdued portrayal of a sinister, manipulative narcissist, with a pinch of disdain mixed with ridicule, was the saving grace of the film. His jail exchanges, where he slowly needles Peter and infuses nuances of his dark backstory, have the essence of a Hannibal Lecter-style interrogation.

Michelle Monaghan disappointed the audience the most, as throughout the entire film she stays consistent with a single emotion: absolute exhaustion and defeat. Despite a star-studded cast, the performances were underwhelming — except for Keaton, who seemed to just have fun with his character.

The film tries to mimic David Fincher's creations with a grey, desaturated visual palette and classic thriller aesthetic, but ends up being a cheap copy from Temu. Rather than building organic tension, the script relied on poorly written dialogue, which left both character dynamics and situations struggling. The most frustrating aspect was the way mysteries were revealed out of the blue, without much connection, leaving a gaping plot hole.

The storyline discarded logical explanations, while too many strings were discovered and left loose. Frank's accomplice, the girl with the blue sweater — whatever had the potential to be great was made to feel disjointed. The final twist felt like something six-year-old Jake came up with while writing the script.

If you wish to watch a nail-biting, pulsating thriller, this definitely is not it. But if you wish to watch something before bed that might put you to sleep quicker, you may give this star studded Netflix snooze a go.