The Walker

Synopsis

A middle-aged gay man in Washington, D. C., Carter Page III (Harrelson), is a male escort—a "walker"—a single man who escorts other men's wives to social events, rather than their husbands. One of the women he escorts, Lynn Lockner (Scott Thomas), is the wife of a United States Senator and is having an affair with a lobbyist. When the lobbyist is murdered, she embroils Carter in an investigation that leads to the highest levels of the federal government.

Cast

Production

Schrader completed the script for The Walker in 2002. Initially the film was to be a direct sequel to American Gigolo, with Julian Kaye (played by Richard Gere) as the lead character. The director originally wanted Kevin Kline to play the lead.

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews in its premiere run in the Berlin, Sydney, and Cambridge film festivals. The Walker was released direct-to-DVD but played in an independent film theater for two weeks in Dorris, California. The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of December 7, 2007, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 51 percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 39 reviews. On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 55 out of 100, based on seven reviews.