(2007) This murder mystery involving political intrigue in the nation's capital, from writer/director Paul Schrader, crawls along at the pace of a southern drawl. Or as Carter says to Abigail: "Let's go real slow."

A walker is a gentleman who escorts rich women from place to place, which is largely what Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson) does for Lynn Lockner (Kristin Scott Thomas), wife of the US Senate's minority leader, Larry Lockner (Willam DaFoe). Carter, who's gay and wears a hairpiece along with expensively tailored suits, has been living in the shadow of his father, ten years deceased, the legendary Senator Page of Virginia, known for his courageous confrontation of President Nixon during the Watergate hearings.

In addition to escorting the senator's wife and playing canasta - with Abigail Delorean (Lily Tomlin), wife of former Senator Jack Delorean (Ned Beatty); Natalie Van Miter (Lauren Bacall), who confesses to Carter that marrying for money is hard; and Lynn - he's a successful real-estate broker. Polite to a fault (the answer to chaos, considering the "mean crowd in this administration"), Carter shares naughty, gossipy tidbits with the ladies, including a story about a photograph of a woman with whom his grandfather fell in love but never met, though he named his daughter after the woman. Is that all? asks one of the women. "I'd give my right arm to know the rest of it."

After Carter drives Lynn over to the residence of Robbie Kononsberg, a lobbyist whom Carter has known for two decades and with whom he was to have an appointment concerning an earlier bad-advice investment, she comes running back with news of Robbie's having been stabbed to death, including a slash to the genitals. Lynn asks Carter not to contact the police: "It would destroy everything … Larry … the media…. It would destroy me." Carter complies but says: "There's something you're not telling me." After driving Lynn home, Carter returns to Robbie's apartment and then (having been seen by a neighbor) calls the authorities.

Speculation on the possible motive in the murder among the canasta players touches on Iraq, the lack of moral values, robbery, financial straits. "Isn't there a woman in every murder mystery?" opines Abigail.

When Carter's gay partner Emek Yoglu (Moritz Bleibtreu), a photographic artist, takes a serious interest in the case, he gets threatened not to play detective and beaten. A whispering campaign implicates Lynn while the police, using a warrant, find Robbie's watch and a Zip drive in Carter's apartment. The prosecutor reminds Carter that lying, perjury, more often than the crime itself, trip up those involved in misdeeds. Advice from his lawyer, Ethan Withal, includes not counting on friends: "Decide what's in your best interest and then act upon it."

Seeing Carter being railroaded, but frustrated after urging his friend to challenge the assumptions as his father had stood up to the powers-that-be, Emek says: "You'll never be like your father." Carter speaks of his having been disabused of illusions such as the separation of church and state, America as a nonaggressive nation, and the high caliber of people elected president; Natalie contends that breeding alone separates us from them. Lynn eventually admits to Carter that a compromising photograph of her with Robbie may be responsible for suspicions directed at her. To Abigail, Carter plants an insinuation that Robbie was attempting to blackmail the vice president; her husband will tell Carter: "You're on the wrong side of history."

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Copyright © 2008 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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