Film Reviews

The Walker

• Rating:
• Director: Paul Schrader
• Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas
• Details: US / 107mins (15A).

Woody Harrelson plays Carter Page III, a homosexual 'walker' - a man who escorts women of a certain age around town - and enjoys nothing more than mincing it with the local, fickle richies (Bacall, Tomlin). It's during one of these excursions that Car, the son of a proud businessman, finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery. When Car drops off Lynn Lockner (Scott Thomas), the wife of local senator Larry (Willem Dafoe), at the house of her secret lover, she returns a moment later telling Car that she's found her lover dead. Swearing he won't call the police, Car drives Lynn home but returns to investigate the crime scene. Seen leaving the house by a neighbour, Car, in fear of becoming a suspect, calls the police. However, this lands him in more trouble and Car, who has lost all his rich friends through dread of scandal, feels he's been set up and attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery. "One day everything is fine and the next you're in an episode of Murder She Wrote," says Car, which is writer/director Paul Schrader's (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) idea of a self-deprecating joke because The Walker, for the most part, feels like a low key, pseudo-noir take on Jessica Fletcher's long-running series. With little tension or mystery to speak of, the slow-paced film must be an exercise in character for Schrader, who revels in taking the self-confessed "naive" and "superficial" Car and turning him into someone worthy of his father's name. Harrelson is fun to watch despite the dreary mood that surrounds him.

Review by Gavin Burke