Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.
John Boorman's neo-noir landmark is a genuinely singular piece of cinema — its fractured, dreamlike narrative structure, elliptical editing, and ambiguous metaphysics (is Walker even alive?) make it unmistakably distinctive. Lee Marvin delivers an iconic, almost mythic performance of cold implacability, supported by strong turns from Angie Dickinson and Carroll O'Connor. Gordon Willis-esque color photography and Boorman's expressionistic staging are cinematographically exceptional for the era. The plot, while admirably stripped-down and purposeful, is less a conventional strength than a vehicle for atmosphere and theme — functional but slight. The ending, fading enigmatically into shadow, suits the film's tone but may feel anticlimactic to some, keeping it from a full top mark.