morrison-dylan-fan After hearing about her for years,I have this year being pleased to finally see Kristin Scott Thomas (KST!) in the stylish Neo-Noir Love Crime and the earthy Drama Leaving.Shortly after watching Leaving,I was intrigued to find that the BBC were going to show one of KST's English language movies,which led to me walking on by.The plot:As a photo of his tobacco farming granddaddy hangs above him, Carter Page III finds the only way that he can get near the power player in Washington is to be an escort to their wives.One of Page's main clients is Lynn Lockner,who has been having an affair with lobbyist Robbie Kononsberg (who gave Page bad advice on the stock market.) Going to pay him a visit,Lockner finds Kononsberg murdered. As Page tries to help Lockner keep the affair hidden,he begins to walk out of step with the elite.View on the film:Continuing on the major theme of his work,the screenplay by writer/director Paul Schrader walks with a Neo-Noir of the outsider looking in. Surrounded by the elite, Schrader makes Page a loner whose every feature from his hair to psychological intimacy is part of a façade for the client. Finding Kononsberg dead, Schrader splinters the Neo-Noir with cynical political shots over what power players will do to keep their piece of the pie.Keeping Page as an outsider, Schrader aims for a cerebral Noir.Whilst this approach does lead to the viewer feeling as detached from the high-life as Page,it causes the title itself to be caved in a blank,strung-out atmosphere,where the murder charge and the characters themselves are emotionless and paper thin.Entering to the wonderful synch-Blues (!) score from Anne Dudley, Schrader and cinematographer Chris Seager swagger with a Neo-Noir style,lining Page's house in deep neon blue,and the crawling camera moves giving the film a dry Erotic Thriller mood.Burning up the riches of the elite, Schrader soaks the movie in a peculiar lime green that subtly expresses how rotten and mouldy the power they hold onto is. Refusing to do press for the flick due to hating his own performance, Woody Harrelson does lay on the Southern Charm a bit too thick,but does capture Page being a completely detached Noir loner on the scene.Adding a touch of Film Noir and Neo-Noir class, Lauren Bacall and Willem Dafoe give terrific, greasy performances as Natalie Van Miter and Larry Lockner,whilst the elegant KST smoothly threads the films cold pessimism with Lynn Lockner concern about becoming an outsider,as the walker walks away.

blanche-2 Woody Harrelson is "The Walker" in this 2007 drama directed by Paul Schrader. It takes place in Washington, D.C., where Carter Page III (Harrelson) takes society women to parties and concerts when their husbands are out of town or don't want to attend. He's gay, very charming, with a rich family history of successful and admired men. The women love his stories and he always looks debonair.One day, Carter drives his friend Lynn (Kristin Scott-Thomas) to her lover's house for a tryst. Both her husband and lover Robbie are well-known, and her liaison's with this lover are kept secret.Lynn exits the house in shock and tells Carter that Robbie is dead, stabbed, and if anyone finds out she was seeing him, it will ruin her husband's career. Carter chivalrously offers to take her home and then return and report the murder himself as if he was visiting Robbie about some investments and found the body.The police, of course, are suspicious. It's a high-profile case and they want to close it. Someone is leaking information to them also that Lynn and Robbie were lovers. Carter stands his ground, even though he's encouraged to look after his own best interests. He soon finds himself out of the social scene, and Lynn leaves town.The story here is not about the murder, it's about Carter being used and abused by these women. He would do anything for them, but if he needed something, he wouldn't get it from any of them. It's apparent that he doesn't realize that at first. It's also apparent that being the descendant of respected men means that people keep looking at him and wondering how he got to be the way he did. He wants to do a noble thing; he wants to be loyal.The wonderful cast includes Lauren Bacall, Ned Beatty, Lily Tomlin, and Willem Dafoe. Harrelson gives a fantastic performance as a slow-talking, dashing Southerner who normally keeps things on a superficial level and doesn't show his true feelings. Lauren Bacall is a society gossip who thinks more highly of Carter and sees her group of friends for what they are. She's great, although some didn't understand her attitude at the end of the movie. She respected Carter enough to be honest, as opposed to her friends. When you see the film, you'll know what I mean.Scandal, politics, greed, affairs, none of this is new. And this film gives the impression that a few things were left on the cutting room floor that should have been included. This makes the film occasionally confusing. However, scandal, politics, greed, and affairs are just background for The Walker. The true story is how, in a crisis, you find out who your real friends are. You find out you don't have many. And in an atmosphere like this film's, none.A great soundtrack accompanies The Walker, and one gets an impression of Washington society that's not very positive, but when has it been? Worth seeing for Harrelson's performance especially.

CitizenCaine With The Walker, director Paul Schrader continues the the isolated man theme he's explored several times in the past with Taxi Driver, Hardcore, Raging Bull, American Gigolo, Light Sleeper, and even Affliction to some degree. Woody Harrelson is Carter Page, a walker for society women who must make public appearances without their spouses or with someone if they have no spouse. Harrelson has a stable of women he works with including the legendary Lauren Bacall, who is amusing indeed in a limited role, Lily Tomlin, and Kristen Scott-Thomas. Scott-Thomas is Harrelson's focal woman in the group and of Schrader's plot. She pays a visit to her lover with Harrelson in tow only to discover the lover murdered. Harrelson, of course, becomes the prime suspect. As Carter Page, he undergoes somewhat of a personality change as he is forced to shed the superficial airs he puts on for his society friends in favor of taking a more active role in the investigation that follows in order to simultaneously save his own skin and maintain his integrity with his society friends.Schrader has always had an ear for dialog and has drawn excellent characterizations, and the characters in The Walker are no exception. Woody Harrelson is quite different as Carter Page than most audience members are used to seeing him. The cinematography by Chris Seager is rich with detail and serves as a counterpart to the artificiality of Washington politics surrounding the goings-on in the film. In tact is Schrader's isolated man against himself, others, and society as in all of the previously aforementioned films. The film tends to drag just a tad but accelerates nicely after the murder. It's not one of Schrader's best, but average Schrader is still above average when compared to other filmmakers. Ned Beatty has a key small role as a politician, and Willem Dafoe, a Schrader favorite, also has a small role. *** of 4 stars.

M. J Arocena To be a walker is to be something if not someone or, if you prefer, a walker is someone without being something. Whatever way you look at it, there is something that it's desperately not there. Woody Harrelson and his character, act. Acting as a way of life. Trying to be trivial all the time runs the risk of making triviality something truly important. We're standing on the sidelines looking in without seeing because if we saw, well, if we saw, things may be dramatically different. This is a film by Paul Schrader - a master in getting into the hearts and souls of the outsiders - and Harrelson is an outsider living in, with a very specific awareness. Great! A film to savor and listen to, attentively. Not very often one can actually say that. Other than Harrelson, Lauren Bacall, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily Tomlin shine.