She Listens Alone opens with online counsellor Sabrina (Alivia Levie) appearing in the bottom right-hand corner of a laptop screen, mutely listening as a gamut of strangers talk her through their life issues – kids, divorce, loneliness, anxiety. Then we zoom in on one session in particular, which stands out because it’s a woman fantasising about her own murder, but she feels that the fantasy is down to her own absolute anonymity; she feels so far removed from any sort of recognition or attention, that no one would miss her. That’s pretty bleak, and in many respects sets our tone.
From quite early on, the film feels like a kind of ‘who examines the doctors?’ set-up. Off duty, we see that Sabrina is currently staying in her parents’ old house, feels rather defeated by the formulaic nature of her wholly online day job, and has some doubts over her relationship with thrift store owner Mike (Forest Quaglia), who, by the by, is first introduced to us wearing a Hawaiian shirt; Mike is punching up. It’s clear. But life goes on, and Sabrina takes on a new client: Andrew (Wyatt Tithof), a college drop-out who has many issues, but tellingly, seems to give voice to a lot of the doubts also being felt by Sabrina. Perhaps this lowers her guard, but at least short term, Sabrina’s efforts to give Andrew a lift seem to help her, too. She’s briefly brighter, more hopeful and more confident, allowing herself plenty of space and self care for always-unspecified issues of her own. She even seems to relent on Mike – for a while at least.
Oh well. One day, whilst shop-sitting for Mike, Sabrina notices a black vehicle parked outside; in fact, she’s seen it before. Is she being followed? Her optimistic life phase soon seems to be over, though whether this is as a result of Sabrina’s new paranoia about the vehicle or the inevitability of Mike’s blatantly wandering eye is down to your own judgement. For whatever reason, Sabrina begins to forge ever closer ties to Andrew; again, who examines the doctors? And is it Andrew who is following her?
There’s a big tangle of fallibility and human error at the core of She Listens Alone, and there has to be: furthermore, you have to just accept it, particularly as it’s the bedrock of the second half of the film. I’ve mentioned previously that safeguarding practices seem to be in short order in a lot of films – necessarily in some cases – but it can be teeth-clenching when it occurs, and there are a few decisions here which grate, even though it’s Sabrina’s own desperation which has her leave herself open in the way she does. The film also serves as a bigger complaint about modern society, with its study of the limitations to personal freedoms and the seemingly small-fry struggles which keep people forever fretful and searching for a way forward. These concerns initially come together most fluently in the character of Andrew, via some insightful dialogue shared during his early sessions. Elsewhere, it comes together more slowly, but always making the point that modern life can be incredibly isolating. Sabrina is so often alone, or negotiates her reality via a screen: even in a hyperconnected world, people remain alienated. The film is also set in a world where self-help has been commodified, and also one in which lines can easily blur. If a paid job relies on the semblance of a relationship, then how easy is it to switch this off when the session ends? It’s playing with fire, as it turns out for Sabrina (Alivia Levie, by the way, is on screen on her own for a large share of the film, but does a very good job sustaining the tension and engagement).
She Listens Alone (2026) is a good suspense story with some integrated horror elements; whilst there are a couple too many dream sequences perhaps – and a big ask in terms of the central premise – this is nonetheless an increasingly tense and well-wrought ninety minutes. It leaves more than a few questions unanswered, but in a smart, controlled way which, even if the film elects for a neater, cleaner ending than I was perhaps expecting, sustains the film’s overall themes of modern disaffection and detachment. There’s a great score too, and throughout, the film looks incredibly slick and well-made.
She Listens Alone (2026) will be released in Thanksgiving Week (US).