Christopher Walken Movie:

Editorial Review:
Based on a creepy Ian McEwan novel, this Paul Schrader film stars Natasha Richardson and Rupert Everett as a married couple who find their marriage sliding into a morass of tedium. To reignite it, they visit Venice, where they fall under the spell of an urbane older couple, played by Christopher Walken (in one of his most chillingly insinuating roles) and Helen Mirren (who seems to be more his crippled acolyte than his wife). British reserve forces the younger couple to be polite to these strange birds, but increased exposure to them through coincidental meetings gradually pulls them into their deadly orbit. Adapted by Harold Pinter, it's a slightly arid but still goose-fleshy film in which nothing is what it seems to be and, what's worse, nothing familiar looks familiar anymore. --Marshall Fine

The Comfort of Strangers Reviews:
Glorious, Depraved Madness from the Depths of the 90th Floor...
2009-11-15 - I have been a fan of this glorious waltz through deranged minds and innocents since first seeing it aboard Naval Air Station Diego Garcia (in the middle of the Indian Ocean). After the films conclusion, when an audience of hardened Military Pilots (and Crews) disperse in silence (some in tears), it's a sure bet that the film has some kind of film magic in it.

Since Natasha Richardson's dealth this past year, it has been almost impossible to find a copy of this film unless you were willing to mortgage your home to pay for it. Rupert Everet has the perfect blend of handsome masculinity mixed with innocence, that makes men and women both (even STR8 Military men) stop for a moment and want to touch. Helen Mirren can tear your heart out with such smoothness that you won't even notice it gone until you fall over clutching your chest and notice the emptiness. Christopher Walken is the quintessential carrier of the essence of Evil, hidden behind Dupioni Silks and a crude swaveness that can break down the human spirit with a flick of a hand.

Incorporate all above and then, add Venice as the backprop. The mist, the twinkle of light upon the waters of the canals. The mixture of fear and inexaustible curiosity of the younger couple (Richardson and Everet) with the lifestyle of the more mature couple (Mirren and Walken) behind the stark stone facade of their sumptious mansion overlooking the canals.

Slow and deliberate in it's plot-building, the storyline makes a quick turn directly into depraved madness.

One of the most impressionistic bombarments of my own senses. Will I ever get over it? I doubt I will...


Sexy, Erotic, Thriller
2009-03-31 - I saw this when it came out in the theater. After Natasha's death I bought the DVD (I worried about the Region 2 format even though I know full well I have a special player). Venice is glorious to see. I loved Natasha's hair & clothes. The shoes she wears when Colin draws the pictures are just wonderful. They were sexy & feminine yet made for walking, unlike the spike heels now.

Everyone who's spoken of this film thus far forget Helen Mirren. I really liked her in all of her oddnesses. I can't say enough about Christopher Walken. This was my first Walken film and I became hooked.

Colin & Marry go to Venice for the second time on vacation & to decide what to do with their relationship. They meet Robert seemingly by chance. He has horrific plans for them. Caroline, Robert's wife is confined to home because she can't manage stairs. Robert brings the couple home and the mystery unfolds.

Beautiful film, beautiful memory of Natasha.





Eh...,
2008-12-07 - I won't go into too much detail here. Suffice it to say, it very accurately follows the Ian McEwan novel, however, the characters are unlikeable, and the cinematography is very dated. Read the book, instead...it'll save you the horror of 80s hairstyles and clothing.

A great way to see Venice-with friends (fiends)
2008-06-19 - Do you know where you are???? Your'e on the other side of the mirror. Wow that line along with what do you want? Want? I'll show you what I want!! And boom there goes Walkens Character over the edge into madness. I loved this movie for its atmosphere and great setting in Venice with terrific script and wonderful off-kilter performances from the main four actors. This one along with Dont look Now and Talented Mr Rilpey make a great trio of Terror from Italy. Love to see these three at a Drive -In. Wow. Just Great.

Anyone For Venice?
2008-02-17 - The Comfort Of Strangers is worth watching simply for the photography. Venice turns up often in film, but director Paul Schrader really gets it right. From the endless alleyways, so ominous at night, to the outdoor sewers - whoops - I mean canals - to the exquisite public buildings and lavish, dark interiors, expertly dressed down to the last detail, the sense of place is intoxicating. Much of the film finds Venice bathed in gentle afternoon sunlight, rendering it soft, opulent, alluring. Every obligatory cliché is touched, from the pigeons to the gondoliers to the gold leaf domes and the charming bridges. Anybody who is anybody arrives at his or her 500 year old crib by water taxi. Art with a capital A is so ubiquitous and so in decline that the stench of decadence and licentiousness linger in the air like perfume. That's the good news.

The bad news is, everything else. To paraphrase Churchill, never has so much talent been assembled with such lack of result. This line-up has "dream team" written all over it. Novel by Ian McEwan. Screenplay by Harold Pinter. (Memo to Harold Pinter: Harold, sometimes less is less.) Christopher Walken, Natasha Richardson, Helen Mirren, and Rupert Everett. Granted, Everett would probably be in over his head shooting a Calvin Klein commercial, but the other three are world class. Walken exudes the kind of malice required for films like this when he's picking up lunch at Arby's. Top it off with the master of unsettling music, Angelo Badalamenti. Venice is the ideal city for a tale of sexual corruption, depravity, and decay. What started well became - staggeringly boring.

Sadly the blame must be laid squarely at the feet of Schrader and Pinter. The dialogue in this movie is so appallingly listless it makes Last Year At Marienbad seem like a Marx Brothers comedy. Our lead characters don't have enough energy between them to lift a teaspoon, or chemistry enough to cause the decomposition of leaves. The malevolent sexuality of Walken and Mirren, far from being either frightening or exciting, or - in a better movie - both - is simply dumb. In fact, everything about how these characters meet and interact is both dumb and pointless. Schrader has written and directed some great pictures; in this one he seems convinced that plush interiors make an adequate substitute for plot, characters, motivation, interesting situations and point. I have seen maple syrup pour onto pancakes with more urgency.