dianamercedeshowell It is at least a five because I watched it to the very end. Harrelson is utterly inappropriate for the role of a gay escort of DC's bored housewives, but you cannot take your eyes of of him. I was about to pop out the disc when his character did something really dumb. I had to continue watching to understand why he did that. The Walker isn't a literal remake of American Gigolo, but Paul Schrader is recycling the same material. Carter Page III (Harrelson) thinks he has everything under control. Gets involved with the wrong people, the rich and powerful are always evil, right? Discovers these people aren't really his friends after he is suspected of killing a lobbyist and doors begin to slam in his face. Plenty of cameos by really good actors...Ned Beatty, Willem Dafoe, Lily Tomlin, Lauren Bacall. It isn't the script that keeps you watching, it is watching pros execute their craft. Except for these cameos and Harrelson's charisma, this movie has no pulse.

JasparLamarCrabb There's something going on here but what it is isn't exactly clear. Paul Schrader's muddled thriller benefits greatly from a very interesting Woody Harrelson performance along with a highly colorful supporting cast. Harrelson is a Washington DC society dandy who escorts ("walks") married women to various functions. He know all their secrets and where all the bodies are buried. When one doyenne (Kristin Scott Thomas) becomes embroiled in the murder case of a shifty lobbyist, Harrelson steps in and nearly takes the rap. Like the heroes in past Schrader films (LIGHT SLEEPER, American GIGOLO), Harrelson's character is deeply flawed and more than a little disinterested in his own fate. Harrelson plays his role as if channeling both Truman Capote AND Hercule Poirot! Schrader's script has a greatly paced first half but then all is rushed for a tidy completion. Still, the film is immensely watchable and full of many great lines of dialog ("never get between a friend and a firing squad"). Lauren Bacall is great as a grand old dame and Lily Tomlin, Ned Beatty and Marybeth Hurt are in it too.

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.

hughman55 This film is one giant pant load. Paul Schrader is utterly lost in his own bad screenplay. And his directing is about as comatose as it can be without his actually having been sleepwalking during the process. The worst though is Woody Harrelson, whom I ordinarily like when he's properly cast. He plays "the walker", a homosexual man in D.C. who plays social companion to the bored wives of the Washington elite. He couldn't have been more one dimensional if he had been cut out of a magazine and bounced around in front of the camera on a popsicle stick. His "southern accent" is that "off the rack" version that decrescendos from the beginning to the end of every line he delivers, as though the heat and humidity of the South is still draining him of every ounce of energy. It is monotonous. But, his is not the worst accent in the movie. His "boyfriend", played by Moritz Bleibtreau, attempts to affect some kind of a Mid East accent that is so clumsy he can barely deliver the bad lines written for him. He is incapable of rolling his r's in spite of the fact that in real life he is German, and speaks several languages - one of them being Italian! That's kind of a good reason to cast someone else don't ya think? From the story, to the screenplay, to the directing, to the camera work, to the performances by the leads, this movie is bad from beginning to end. The only tolerable moments in this film came from three supporting actresses: Lily Tomlin, Lauren Bacall, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Only these three managed to make it through this movie with their dignity in tact. In fact, all three are excellent, in spite of being trapped in a really bad film. Ufortunately, no one could ever be good enough to redeem this endless series of flaws. If you like these three actresses, watch them in something else. This movie is not worth your time.