Netflix's #1 Movie Gives Adam Scott Another Depressed Author Role – but It Can't Match 'Hokum'

Adam Scott's brilliant portrayal of a writer losing touch with reality in the recent horror hit Hokum earned him well-deserved praise. Now, the actor returns to a similar role in the new thriller The Whisper Man, which instantly shot to the top of the Netflix charts.

Despite an impressive cast, including Robert De Niro and Michelle Monaghan, and a literary foundation in Alex North's bestseller, the movie is far from perfect.

What Is 'The Whisper Man' About?

Recently widowed detective novelist Tom and his young son, Jake, move to Garretton, New Jersey, the birthplace of Tom's late wife. Jake is grieving the loss of his mother and finds solace in conversations with an imaginary friend.

However, Jake soon disappears from his home without a trace. Overcome with despair, Tom realizes that the police are failing to solve the case. Children have been disappearing from the neighborhood for a long time, and their abductor remains elusive.

In an attempt to save his son, Tom turns to his estranged father, retired police officer Peter. Twenty years ago, Peter caught a serial killer whose modus operandi is eerily similar to that of the new criminal.

'The Whisper Man' Suffers Most From a Crumpled Plot and Predictable Clichés

The Whisper Man sorely lacks character development: after Jake disappears, the screenwriters introduce one supporting character after another too quickly, and none of them are developed properly.

Plot-relevant events pile up so quickly that we simply don't have time to establish an emotional connection with the characters.

Like many streaming movies, The Whisper Man suffers from a common vice: the creators had to compress the extensive literary source material into an hour and a half, retaining only the basic dramatic outline and discarding the details that brought the book to life.

As a result, instead of a profound psychological thriller, we get a collection of clichés: a copycat serial killer, maps with marked crime scenes, long-held family secrets, and parent-child conflict.

'The Whisper Man' Delivers a Highly Unconvincing Family Drama

The relationship between Tom and his father, Peter, deserves special attention – it could have been the emotional center of the film. The creators suggest that, twenty years ago, Peter became so obsessed with finding the killer that he neglected his son. Now, Tom cannot forgive him for this betrayal.

However, this important topic is explored superficially: family reunions are reduced to shouting and tears, and the importance of communication within the family goes unaddressed. The movie frequently veers toward melodrama but lacks heartfelt conversations even there.

Perhaps the only real pleasure in watching The Whisper Man will come from recognizing references to classic thrillers like Seven or The Silence of the Lambs.

The adaptation of North's bestseller would have benefited from a miniseries format, in which the characters could have been developed and the plot could have found its rhythm.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The Whisper Man'?

• The Whisper Man has 48% from critics and 41% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 6.2/10.

• On Letterboxd, The Whisper Man scored 2.8/5.0.