The Walker (2007)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Melvin W

  
  Carter Page III: I have had some illusions shattered... I thought we weren't an aggressor nation. I thought there was a separation between church and state. Hell, I even thought that the people elected the president.  "Everyone loves a good scandal" The Walker is an… More
  Carter Page III: I have had some illusions shattered... I thought we weren't an aggressor nation. I thought there was a separation between church and state. Hell, I even thought that the people elected the president.  "Everyone loves a good scandal" The Walker is an example of great performances in search of a good movie. The whole time I was watching this film, I was thinking, this should be an amazing movie. Woody Harrelson and Kristin Scott Thomas both gave extraordinary performances. The film looked great and had an appeal to it that should have made me love it. But it never managed to suck me in. I was left feeling less than satisfied by the way Schrader managed the tempo and scandal. Schrader had some interesting ideas, but never managed to execute them to their fullest potential. Woody Harrelson plays Carter Page III, a gay escort who spends time with the rich women of D.C. His job is to keep them company, sometimes by playing cards with them. He drives them around , tells them how good they look, and talks to them about everything. One day he is driving Lynn Lockner  to where her lover is awaiting her. When she arrives she comes back out telling Carter that the man is dead. Carter decides to cover for her since this would ruin her and her husband's life, and tells the police that he found the man. This puts him as suspect number one, and he soon finds himself knee deep in a scandal. I preferred the last thirty minutes of the film to the first hour, fifteen. The first part of the movie is so dull and at times had me restless. The last part did start to pull me in again, but by that time it was really too late. The Walker had a lot potential, and I did enjoy the performances and the sophisticated sets, but Schrader could have had a masterpiece. Instead it's just a decent little dramatic scandal.

• Mark W

  
  The last time writer/director Paul Schrader delved into the seedy world of male escorts was in 1980 with "American Gigolo". That film gained notoriety, not for it's quality or exemplary filmmaking but for being the first time on screen that there was full frontal male… More
  The last time writer/director Paul Schrader delved into the seedy world of male escorts was in 1980 with "American Gigolo". That film gained notoriety, not for it's quality or exemplary filmmaking but for being the first time on screen that there was full frontal male nudity in a mainstream film. Thankfully we are spared such indescretion this time, but it still doesn't save the film. Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson) is an escort for some of Washington, D.C.'s finest society women. He accompanies them to several high-class events whenever they are in need of male company. When the husband of one of his lady friends appears murdered, Carter gets caught up in a scandal-tinged murder mystery. Paul Schrader is normally quite reliable but I wish I had remembered that the aforementioned "American Gigolo" was a stinker before I'd sat down to this equally poor retread and saved myself the time. And quite a bit of time that would have been. It would have amounted to 1hour 47mins, which going by the pace of this film, would have seemed as if I'd saved more. By god this film takes a long time going nowhere. Harrelson puts in a decent attempt as the gay socialite with southern drawl but ultimately he's miscast. He maintains your interest for a short time and from the beginning the film looks very promising. However, it soon becomes very dull, very quickly, and there's nothing Harrelson or the impressive supporting cast of fabulous actresses can do about it. Murder mysteries normally have anticipation, suspense, and intrigue. This has neither, and going by the mis-judged tempo of the film, "The Crawler" would have been a better choice of title.

• paul s

  
  A wonderful performance by Woody Harrelson and some crisp dialogue mask a rather weak who-done-it. As it takes place in the nation's capital, somehow I was not surprised that the rat's all abandoned the sinking ship as soon as they sniffed an iceberg. This certainly… More
  A wonderful performance by Woody Harrelson and some crisp dialogue mask a rather weak who-done-it. As it takes place in the nation's capital, somehow I was not surprised that the rat's all abandoned the sinking ship as soon as they sniffed an iceberg. This certainly was no revelation, and to hinge a film on that tired premiss was unfortunate. This film would have faired much better as a charactor study of a gay man who stands outside beltway society on one hand, and yet wallows in it on the other; who still somehow believes in some basic sense of honor and responsibility. He sticks by one of his "girls", even though he believes her to be guilty, and even though by doing so he places himself squarly in the DA's sights. The irony of course is that the "old money" powerbrokers (of which he once was a part, until he was outed) have already shown their true colors by condemning his sexual actions in the first place. An interesting film and a social commentary wrapped inside a standard potboiler that never quite comes to a boil.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]In "The Walker," Carter Page III(Woody Harrelson) is the son of a Watergate prosecutor and grandson of a plantation owner. He spends one day a week working in a real estate office. The rest of his time is spent keeping the lonely women of Washington,… More
  [font=Century Gothic]In "The Walker," Carter Page III(Woody Harrelson) is the son of a Watergate prosecutor and grandson of a plantation owner. He spends one day a week working in a real estate office. The rest of his time is spent keeping the lonely women of Washington, DC society company, whether it be playing canasta, shopping or watching opera. One day, he escorts Lynn Lockner(Kristin Scott Thomas) to an assignation with Robbie Kononsberg(Steven Hartley) but when they get there, she discovers his murdered body. Acting as a southern gentleman, he makes sure she is not further involved, keeping the career of her husband Larry(Willem Dafoe), a senator, safe. But now Carter comes under suspicion since Robbie lost him a lot of money on investments.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]Written and flatly directed by Paul Schrader, "The Walker" is a frustratingly vague murder mystery. The sole purpose of the movie may have been to take pot shots at the Bush administation which it roundly deserves but this also instantly dates the movie. When Carter remarks how bad things are now, I was thinking it could not have exactly been easy under Reagan either. All of which is a shame because a great cast is wasted. I certainly think if the movie had just consisted of Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily Tomlin and Lauren Bacall playing canasta for two hours, then it would have been an enjoyable hoot. And I didn't even mention Ned Beatty.[/font]

• Cameron J

  
  Nailed subtle emotion, balanced heavy emotion and commitment to the gay element in a single role? Forget it, Woody Harrelson is officially on my favorite actors list. Now that that's over with, the film features compellingness, solid performances and fine dialogue. However, the… More
  Nailed subtle emotion, balanced heavy emotion and commitment to the gay element in a single role? Forget it, Woody Harrelson is officially on my favorite actors list. Now that that's over with, the film features compellingness, solid performances and fine dialogue. However, the lack of development, slowness and thrown-together storyline leave "The Walker" to be nothing too special of a film. Still, it's gonna have that special place in my heart for getting Harrelson on my favorite actor's list. "Special place in my heart"? Sounds like Harrelson's gayness in the film has some competition.

• Sol C

  
  On the positive, the acting was very good. On the negative, the pacing was off. Some scenes go too slow. It was also very predictable.

• Stephen E

  
  Paul Schrader is a filmmaker whose films require strong acting in order for them to work, as they are often dialogue-heavy. He doesn't rely as much on actions or visual effects as much as he does on words, so a good cast is an absolute necessity. That's one of the reasons… More
  Paul Schrader is a filmmaker whose films require strong acting in order for them to work, as they are often dialogue-heavy. He doesn't rely as much on actions or visual effects as much as he does on words, so a good cast is an absolute necessity. That's one of the reasons why "The Walker" isn't all that great. The acting often seems cold and detached, especially from Lily Tomlin, who I found to be extremely monotonous. No one seems to be as involved as they should be. Really, the only good performance here comes from Woody Harrelson. He's basically the only reason to keep watching. He creates a character so unlike anything he's done before that we're immediately interested, and he does a great job at it. Other than his performance, "The Walker" isn't anything better than average. The writing's really not even all that great either, and that's surprising for Paul Schrader, who I usually find incredibly talented. He gives us a plot, but slightly obscures it. We know what's happening, but not as well as we should, and we continuously hear about Page's past, but Schrader never really goes any more in-depth with it. The pacing isn't anything to complain about, but I won't say that I was "excited" by what was happening.

• Brian R

  
  Carter Page(Woody Harrelson) is a well-heeled and popular socialite who serves as confidant, companion, and card partner to some of the capitol's leading ladies. These pampered women are married to the most powerful men in America, and when their husbands are too busy running the… More
  Carter Page(Woody Harrelson) is a well-heeled and popular socialite who serves as confidant, companion, and card partner to some of the capitol'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, they turn to their "gay best friend," Carter, for warmth, wit and wisdom. Carter's loyalty is tested when his dearest friend finds herself on the brink of a scandal that could destroy her reputation and her husband's career. Schrader's final "lonely men" picture. A very slow yet interesting film.

• Lovable M

  
  Even with Lauren Bacall and Kristin Scott Thomas, this movie was so boring! What a horrible plot!

• Ashton R

  
  The Walker has one of the most mediocre plots I've ever seen, but luckily Woody Harrelson's performance -which is his best to date- was there to save the day. He was the only intriguing part of the film, and kept me watching despite the lagging narrative and otherwise bland… More
  The Walker has one of the most mediocre plots I've ever seen, but luckily Woody Harrelson's performance -which is his best to date- was there to save the day. He was the only intriguing part of the film, and kept me watching despite the lagging narrative and otherwise bland characters surrounding him.

• Leo L

  
  This is an excellent movie, an interesting role for Woody Harrelson. Despite it all, he is truly brilliant! Great story. Kristin, Lily, and Lauren are all fantastic in this movie.

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