Walker Payne

One of my favourite sub-sub-genres of American cinema is the 1950s regional Southern states drama. They tend to be small-scale films with a strong social historical feel and a familiar typology of characters. Walker Payne, which was unfairly overlooked at the time of its release is a neat example of the style.

Jason Patric.plays the title character, a quarry worker in some Illinois backwater town. He’s a nice guy but an incorrigible skirt-chaser and this has resulted in an acrimonious divorce with his ex-wife, Lou Ann (Drea de Matteo) who has custody of their two daughters. But Lou Ann is sick of sole parenting and is willing to give the girls over to Walker if he can come up with $5,000. Either that or she’s leaving them with her sister. Walker agrees but the trouble is he’s just been laid off and hasn’t even got $5. Then he meets small-time hustler Syrus (Sam Shepard) who presents him with the opportunity to make some easy money.

The reason this film died without a trace is probably exactly because it adheres so closely to the sub-genre conventions – the setting is a crummy, run-down town with working class, bordering on white trash, characters who do not-very nice things. Hardly content with mainstream appeal. On the other hand, director Williams who co-wrote the film with Alex Paraskevas and was a writer for television sit-coms, The Cosby Show, Roseanne and Home Improvement.is overly tidy in his approach, particularly in the film’s resolution when Walker’s improbably classy girlfriend (KaDee Strickland) saves his bacon. So that robs the film of appeal for an indie audience and were it not for the gruesome way that Walker sets about raising the money for his kids the film looks more M-O-R than it actually is.

Still, what is appealing about these kinds of films is the sense of a bygone era when people down South had their own way of doing things and Williams does this quite well. The characterisations and performances are all effective, with Patric making for a likeable lead and Sam Shepard doing a good job as the old school grifter (he also sings quite well) while Bruce Dern barely emerges from under his hat.

 

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