This movie is a very good example of Walken at his most vampiric, it is titled The Comfort Of Strangers and it is based on a short novel by Ian McEwan. Paul Schrader is the director of this movie, he also directed one of my favorite movies the 1982 remake of Cat People.
You know that classic fairy tale about the two human children who were orphans and went off into the woods only to be lured to a candy house by a witch who fattened them up? Well this movie is what you might call a modern version of that story.
Our two leads are a British couple played by Rupert Everett - (who you might know as Dr Claw in the live action Inspector Gadget movie and the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek franchise) and the late Natasha Richardson.
Both of them are vacationing in the lovely town of Venice, it is explained that the two of them want to revitalize their relationship, when going through town one night they lose their way and wind up at a restaurant and that is when they encounter the owner Robert (Walken).
They are taken to the house of Robert and his wife Caroline (Helen Mirren) and they stay there for the night - but what they don't know is that both of them have really dark and horrible secrets and aren't what they seem.
Robert seems to be obsessed with his past among other things..and is quite mentally unhealthy despite being quite a seemingly nice person, he also is a bit suspect over the power females have over males.
The British couple are repulsed and attracted to them at the same time, as time goes by Robert draws them in more and more into his influence.
It seems that the couple are unable to escape him and his wife...as he continues to draw them in.
As a side note Walken gained 20lbs for his role as Robert - and this is the only time you'll see Walken with a slightly hefty body type. The director wanted to have Walken in the shadows to make him look more evil but in Walken's own words: "I don't need to be made to look evil...I can do that on my own."
You know that classic fairy tale about the two human children who were orphans and went off into the woods only to be lured to a candy house by a witch who fattened them up? Well this movie is what you might call a modern version of that story.
Our two leads are a British couple played by Rupert Everett - (who you might know as Dr Claw in the live action Inspector Gadget movie and the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek franchise) and the late Natasha Richardson.
Both of them are vacationing in the lovely town of Venice, it is explained that the two of them want to revitalize their relationship, when going through town one night they lose their way and wind up at a restaurant and that is when they encounter the owner Robert (Walken).
They are taken to the house of Robert and his wife Caroline (Helen Mirren) and they stay there for the night - but what they don't know is that both of them have really dark and horrible secrets and aren't what they seem.
Robert seems to be obsessed with his past among other things..and is quite mentally unhealthy despite being quite a seemingly nice person, he also is a bit suspect over the power females have over males.
The British couple are repulsed and attracted to them at the same time, as time goes by Robert draws them in more and more into his influence.
It seems that the couple are unable to escape him and his wife...as he continues to draw them in.
As a side note Walken gained 20lbs for his role as Robert - and this is the only time you'll see Walken with a slightly hefty body type. The director wanted to have Walken in the shadows to make him look more evil but in Walken's own words: "I don't need to be made to look evil...I can do that on my own."