The Walker is the story of Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson), a society "walker" in Washington DC, a "job" which entails escorting the wives of the rich and powerful to parties and nights out at the opera because their high-powered hubbies are too wrapped up in business.

The dandy-dressed Carter has three primary friends, all 'women of a certain age', Lynn (Kristin Scott Thomas), Abby (Lily Tomlin) and Natalie (Lauren Bacall) as well as a younger boyfriend, Emek (Mortiz Bleibtreu).

Carter and his women friends play canasta each Wednesday. Lynn, the wife of a liberal senator, contacts Carter when she finds her lover murdered. To save her and her husband political embarrassment, Carter agrees to say that he, not Lynn, discovered the body but opting to do that is going to land Carter in a lot more trouble than he bargained for.

The Walker is quite interesting merely because most might not know this kind of role in high society existed. Woody Harrelson's lazy accent, best described as a kind of drawl takes some getting used to and you don't hear all his dialogue, which is a shame given some of it appears to be quite wicked, given Carter Page is a bit of a gossip at heart.

The thriller element of the plot blends in quite nicely and it's a plus point to have such a starry cast with decent roles for the likes of Lauren Bacall and Lily Tomlin. The film suffers from a fairly languid script at times, but Paul Schrader directs it ably enough, with a contemplative and slightly laidback approach.