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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE WALKER
The Walker

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The Walker (2007)

51%
73%
50%
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51 %
Reviews Counted: 57 Fresh: 29  Rotten:28 Average Rating: 5.2/10
 
Consensus: The Walker can be dull at times, detracting from the talented cast. Despite a strong performance from Woody Harrelson, The Walker can be slow and dull at times, detracting from the talented cast. more
 
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Theatrical Release: 10-08-2007
Synopsis:
Director Paul Schrader (AMERICAN GIGOLO, AFFLICTION) has often described himself as making films with two characters: a man and his room. In THE WALKER, his lonely man is Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson), a charming social accessory in the Capote vein, escorting the wives of high-powered... [More]
Director Paul Schrader (AMERICAN GIGOLO, AFFLICTION) has often described himself as making films with two characters: a man and his room. In THE WALKER, his lonely man is Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson), a charming social accessory in the Capote vein, escorting the wives of high-powered politicians to society gatherings and offering witty rejoinders at the appropriate moment. Dressed in a peacock's assortment of tailored suits, Carter attends an exclusive, trash-talking canasta game with the wilting wives of D.C. power brokers: queen bee Natalie Van Miter (Lauren Bacall), old vet Abigail Delorean (Lily Tomlin), and newcomer Lynn Lockner (Kristin Scott Thomas). It is not unimportant that Carter, the prodigal son of a famed Southern politician, is gay and living in a city controlled by a right-wing administration. Indeed, it is Washington D.C. that provides Schrader's stifling "room," a landscape where everyone has an angle, sympathies change in a heartbeat, and lives are ruined with a whisper. The film's plot is set into motion when Carter chauffeurs Lynn to a sexual rendezvous with a Washington lobbyist; she discovers him dead, perforated by stab wounds. Fearing scandal, Carter covers up for her and soon finds himself under the spotlight of an investigation. Hounded by a self-righteous, ambitious D.A., Carter begins probing the matter himself with the help of his photographer boyfriend, a decision that puts both their lives in peril. A compelling character study disguised as a thriller, THE WALKER is anchored by Harrelson's brilliant and nuanced performance of the superficial (but exactly how superficial?) Carter Page III, and the perfect casting of Bacall and Tomlin as career wives. Though eminently watchable for its twists and turns, the film's more lasting impression is its intriguing tapestry of insular, double lives. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Ned Beatty, Moritz Bleibtreu

Director: Paul Schrader
Screenwriter: Paul Schrader
Producer: Deepak Nayar
Composer: Anne Dudley

DVD Info

Release:

Oct 4, 2009

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Letterbox
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
  • Subtitles - English (SDH), Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Paul Schrader - Writer/Director
  • Behind The Scenes - MAKING OF THE WALKER
  • Trailer - 1.Theatrical Trailer
  • 2.Trailer Gallery

Text/Photo Galleries:

  • Photo Gallery

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

A small-scale, lovingly crafted, low-budget picture.

Full Review | Comment
08/18/07 05:18 AM
Philip French
Observer [UK]
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A SMOOTH tale of murder and deception... great cast and fine film.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 09:16 AM
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]
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Certainly well made, a reminder that Schrader is a writer and director of some note.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 08:59 AM
Derek Malcolm
This is London
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A charismatic and charming film with lots of delightful turns of phrase but it also ends up feeling as frivolous and fleeting as its main protagonist.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 08:56 AM
David Jenkins
thelondonpaper
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The Walker might have meant something, but it tails off into vagueness.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 08:36 AM
Anthony Quinn
Independent
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The Walker seems the work of a straight movie artist trying to “do” gay. There is no reality humanising the caricatural extremes.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 08:22 AM
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
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It looks tired, slightly soft in the middle, and yet there is a raw, hard-won honesty here that puts most contemporary US movies to shame.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 08:11 AM
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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A film you can’t walk out on.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 07:28 AM
Sun Online
Ratings Image

A subtle satire about Washington hypocrisy and manners.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 07:11 AM
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Harrelson deserves a pat on the back for filling out his character. Never allowed to forget the greatness of his politician father, he's a deeply self-loathing man whose acerbic front prevents him forming real relationships.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 05:23 AM
Daily Mirror [UK]
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A return to form and another entry in Schrader's 'God's Lonely Man' saga, this murder mystery is hard not to be intrigued by. Harrelson's brilliant performance is enough to sell it alone.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 04:56 AM
Jamie Russell
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The thriller plot is over-dependent on coincidence and virtually impossible to follow, still less care about. Schrader's sniping at the Bush-Cheney administration seems obtuse rather than sharp, and badtempered instead of scintillating.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 04:50 AM
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]
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An overwrought plot bogs down Paul Schrader’s DC-based social drama. Still, the dialogue is sharp, and the clotted story can’t eclipse a fine cast headed by a tour de force performance from Harrelson.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 03:48 AM
Philip Kemp
Total Film
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Harrelson is an entertaining mix of Old South camp and quiet pathos but neither he nor the script's desultory attempts at post-9/11 commentary are enough to elevate it above the level of a pretentious John Grisham adaptation.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 03:08 AM
Ellen E Jones
Little White Lies
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Attempting to encompass too many genres dulls the overall effect but this still commands a certain fascination.

Full Review | Comment
08/10/07 02:44 AM
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
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The Walker is at its best observing surfaces.

Full Review | Comment
08/09/07 03:15 AM
Ben Walters
Time Out
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Slow-moving, badly acted and painfully pretentious drama that fails to engage on any level.

Full Review | Comment
08/09/07 03:15 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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It's a carefully measured performance by Harrelson, that draws you into Paige's dilemma: effete rather than flamboyant, polite and reserved.

Full Review | Comment
08/07/07 03:15 AM
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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Moody and rather pretentious, this drama at least has a handful of intriguing characters to keep our interest.

Full Review | Comment
08/04/07 05:29 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

Page is a great character in search of a movie, and "The Walker" doesn't provide it.

Full Review | Comment
02/01/08 11:42 AM
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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