Walker, The

55

THINKFilm (108 minutes)
and Paul Schrader
Woody Harrelson , Kristin Scott Thomas , Lily Tomlin , Lauren Bacall , Willem Dafoe , Ned Beatty , Moritz Bleibtreu , and Mary Beth Hurt

Rating: R for language, some violent material and nude images

Summary: A contemporary drama set in Washington, DC, The Walker centers around Carter Page (Harrelson), a well-heeled and popular socialite who serves as confidant, companion, and card partner to some of the capital's leading ladies. These pampered women are married to the most powerful men in America, and when their husbands are too busy running the country to attend to their wives, the wives turn to their "gay best friend," Carter, for warmth, wit, and wisdom. Carter's loyalty is tested when his dearest friend (Scott Thomas) finds herself on the brink of a scandal that could destroy her reputation and her husband's career. Offering to cover for her, Carter suppresses incriminating evidence, only to find himself the chief suspect in a criminal investigation. Suddenly, this well-connected man-about-town is a pariah, hounded by the police and forced to find the true culprit and clear his name. More importantly, he must reexamine whether it is important to be accepted by a society based on betrayal, hypocrisy, and corruption. A tale of moral redemption that takes the form of a mystery-thriller, The Walker is the third part of Schrader's "lonely man" trilogy, which began with American Gigolo (1980) and also includes Light Sleeper (1992). (THINKFilm)

James Berardinelli
ReelViews:
(75) This is not Schrader's finest work. The script is not tight, the ending disappoints, and there's a little too much drawn from "American Gigolo." But there are some great one-liners, compelling actors, and well-developed characters.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times:
(75) A quietly enthralling film because it contains the murder and the investigation within Carter's smooth calm.

G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle:
(75) Has a wicked sense of humor.

Leslie Felperin
Variety:
(70) Even if this isn't Schrader's best, it's hardly his worst.

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide:
(63) Though ultimately flawed, the film's depiction of velvet-gloved cruelty and matter-of-fact betrayal is surprisingly potent, and it's pure pleasure to watch Bacall prowling the corridors of power, tossing her golden mane and tossing off world-weary observations in a voice pitched somewhere between a purr and a growl.

Lou Lumenick
New York Post:
(63) Harrelson's charming flamboyance - seen to great effect in "No Country for Old Men" - is a great fit for Carter, who carries no small amount of self-loathing under his carefully coifed toupee.

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