The Walker

 Year:  2007

Director:  Paul Schrader

Screenplay:  Paul Schrader

Starring:  Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Ned Beatty, Moritz Bleibtreu, Mary Beth Hurt, Lily Tomlin, Willem Dafoe

Running Time:  107 minutes

Genre:  Thriller, drama

Washington, D. C.:  Carter Page III (Harrelson) is a "walker" - he is paid to accompany wealthy wives to events, and act as companion, confidante, and cards partner.  One of his clients, Lyn Lockner (Scott Thomas), who is married to a powerful United States Senator, is having an affair with a lobbyist, but when she discovers her lover's murdered body, Carter reports the crime in order to cover up her affair.  However, Carter almost immediately becomes the prime suspect in the enquiry.  As he attempts to uncover the truth and clear his name, he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous political conspiracy.

The character of the "gay best friend" has become almost a stereotype in any number of dramas and comedies.  Usually the character comforts and helps the female lead with bitchy remarks and sharp-tongues comments, adding some humour and park to the proceedings.  Woody Harrelson's Carter Page III is almost like a "gay best friend" for hire.  The last of a distinguished Southern family, we meet him at the card table in a luxury hotel suite with the three older women that he escorts, playing canasta and holding court with arch remarks and witticisms.  Immaculately dressed, urbane, debonair with a strong line in clever remarks, and an extensive knowledge of all the best things in life.  Carter, who is gay, acts as friend and companion, but doesn't sleep with his clients.  The character is still in the long tradition of Paul Schrader's troubled, lonely men.  He lives alone in an immaculate apartment, and spends much of his time, perfecting his appearance, including his wig, which he removes only once, briefly, and researching his topics of conversation.  Although he has a boyfriend, they never seem to be all that close, and no-one else appears to be allowed into Carter's golden kingdom.  In fact, Carter's whole life seems to be a succession of facades that he puts up for other people.  This is the problem with Schrader's film, despite a fantastic performance by Harrelson, there doesn't really appear to be anything behind Carter's genteel politeness, and immaculate suits, except the briefest flickers which we see when he is angered or upset.  The supporting cast is full of great performances, including Lauren Bacall as the Grand Dame of Washington, who rivals Carter in her command of waspish remarks.  Kristin Scott Thomas is very good as the unfaithful wife, terrified of discovery.  Ned Beatty is perfectly oily as a rich, nasty, old Senator.  Originally conceived as a sequel to Schrader's 1980 film American Gigolo, this is a cleverly written film, but it feels surprisingly bland and workmanlike for Schrader.  Despite being set in Washington, the film was mostly filmed in Britain and the Isle of Man, and despite the strong cast, it has the feel of a TV movie about it, and the references to the Iraq War seem shoehorned in to give the film some contemporary relevance.  However the film has a witty and intelligent script, and it is worth seeing for the performances.  

  Kristin Scott Thomas and Woody Harrelson in The Walker

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Year of Release:  2017
Director:  Martin McDonagh
Screenplay:  Martin McDonagh
Starring:  Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage
Running Time:  115 minutes
Genre:  Drama, dark comedy, crime

Mildred Hayes (McDormand) is a single mother who lives in the small town of Ebbing, Missouri.  Mildred is consumed with grief and rage over the brutal murder of her teenage daughter seven months previously.  Angry at the lack of progress in the official police investigation, Mildred hires three advertising billboards along a road into town and uses them to personally call out the town's police chief, Willoughby (Harrelson), as to why no arrests have been made.  This, of course, does not go down well with either the police or the townspeople, and Mildred soon finds herself a target.

This is something of a tragicomedy, dealing with seriously dark and disturbing themes and occasionally brutal violence, however it is also very funny, with some laugh out loud lines.  Frances McDormand dominates the film as Mildred Hayes, a tough, witty and angry woman, who does not care about what anyone thinks, but who still has doubts about her mission.  One of the strengths of the film is the way characters are introduced one way, and then are revealed to be more complex, particularly Woody Harrelson's turn as the troubled police chief.  The film raises some issues regarding police racism which it never really deals with, and some viewers may find the arc of Sam Rockwell's racist police officer hard to stomach.  However, this is certainly worth seeing, it's a dark but hilarious film, well-made with some fantastic performances.  It's a film about the corrosive effects of anger, revenge of violence, how it can become an endless cycle that consumes everyone and everything.

Frances McDormand and two of the Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Natural Born Killers

Year: 1994
Director: Oliver Stone
Screenplay: Oliver Stone, Dave Veloz and Richard Rutowski, from a story by Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, Rodney Dangerfield
Running Time: 119 minutes, and a 123 minute Director's Cut
Genre: Crime, thriller, action, satire, dark comedy

Opinions: Mickey Knox (Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (Lewis) are a married pair of serial killers who leave a swathe of murder and devastation over the southern USA. They are chased by unbalanced celebrity cop Jack Scagnetti (Sizemore), who has a personal mission against serial killers, and sleazy Australian television personality Wayne Gale (Downey, Jr.), host and producer of popular true-crime show American Maniacs, alongside almost every law enforcement agency in the USA.
While seeking treatment for a rattlesnake bite, Mickey and Mallory are arrested, after a three week crime spree that has left fifty-two people dead. A year later they are in prison, and the warden, Dwight McClusky (Jones), enlists Scagnetti to help transport the two to a mental hospital with the understanding that they will be killed on the way. However, Mickey has plans of his own and agrees to a live TV interview with Gale as tensions in the prison approach boiling point.

Opinions: This film, based loosely on an original screenplay by Quentin Tarantino, was hugely controversial on its orignally release for its arguable glamorising of the violence. The movie utilises almost every cinematic technique in the book, the film stock changes seemingly at random, moves from colour to black-and-white, tinted images, weird camera angles, animation, on-screen captions, stock footage, distorted images, clips from TV shows and movies, a frenzied editing style and weird back-projection. Some scenes detailing Mallory's abusive family life are even shot in the style of an old TV sitcom. This is combined with a frenetic and eclectic soundtrack which blends in everything from classical to country to hard rock.
Woody Harrelson is genuinely terrifying as the charismatic but murderous Mickey, and he gets strong support from Juliette Lewis as the frenzied Mallory, both of whom manage to be genuinely touching in their romantic scenes. Tom Sizemore also works well as the sinister cop on their trail. However both Robert Downey, Jr. and Tommy Lee Jones are completely over the top as the TV journalist and prison warden respectively. Which does largely fit in with Stone's excessive style.
The movie is an attack on the way that the media ostensibly condemns criminals while at the same time glamorising them, which is not a particularly new point, and it's treatment here is not in any way subtle, but is effective.
The film is still shocking and disturbing though more for it's style than for anything really in the content. It has aged surprisingly well, and remains a striking and memorable viewing experience.



Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis pose for the camera in Natural Born Killers