Walter

While I was waiting for something to happen I suddenly realized that this is a very nice little human interest story. Walter lost his Dad at a young age and it stunted him emotionally. His gradual realization of what his life is and what it could be is the story. There is some very nice talent with medium and small roles as his parents, psychiatrist, his father's former lover and even the great Jim Gaffigan as the movie theater manager. It is a slow paced feature but Andrew J. West has a lot going on as Walter deals with his unresolved grief for his Dad, his over protective Mom and his strong attraction to Kendall, the popcorn girl at the movie theater where he works. Justin Kirk plays the ghost who haunts him with snarky humor and a dose of reality which serve as the catalyst that Walter desperately needs to wake up and get a life. All in all a surprising and creative little flick that is worth your while if you can live without the usual clichés featured in today's films.

Walter is a little indie film that is more than meets the eye - and you're going to want to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Walter works at a movie theater, it's easy work and he takes it seemingly too seriously. That is because Walter actually works for God and is the one deciding whether you are going to heaven or hell.

Walter, played by Andrew J. West, does not just work for God, he is the son of God and found out the day his father died when he was just ten years old. As a ticket taker at a local cinema, he is able to pass judgment of the eternal fate of many. He lives with his nervous and concerned mother and everything is going fine until a man named Greg surfaces and forces him to confront everything he believes in.

Based on a short by the same minds, Walter is a film about much more than the fantastical and metaphysical happenings of its title character. Like any good narrative, it slowly reveals itself through the unveiling of layers rather than droning exposition. Though the tone of the film fluidly evolves and changes throughout its duration, it never shifts unexpectedly enough to interrupt the audience's engagement.

When it comes to indies, most of the time the acting is the weakest part of the film. Not so with Walter, as Walter enrolls the help of many well known and solid actors in order to tell its story.

Walter is a quirky and interesting film that is ultimately a pleasant surprise. Viewers may not realize where the plot is going, and it ends a bit too expectedly, but not a shabby attempt by writer Paul Schoulberg, and director Anna Mastro, by any means.

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Although I tried to find more to like in this indie dramedy, it just came across to me as mostly painfully unfunny and too long a slog to get to the 180 degree finale.

Andrew J. West stars here as Walter, who's made himself into an obsessive-compulsive "Rain Man"- like character since his father's death, a decade before. From the day of his dad's funeral, Walter believes God has given him the power to instantly judge whether another person will end up in heaven or hell.

Walter will try and deal with his strained relationship with his oppressively smothering mother (Virginia Madsen), as well as the interpersonal relationships with his co-workers at the movie theater, where he works as a ticket taker. When a ghost-like figure (Justin Kirk) enters Walter's world, and he begins to see a therapist (William H. Macy), Walter's ironclad life's rules will begin to be challenged and shaken.

There are a couple of life's lessons being offered here but, for me, as mentioned it was just too difficult a slog to get to them near the finale of the film. Also, the ending here just seemed too simplistic and contrived for my tastes.

While the presence of several well known actors including William H. Macy and Virginia Madsen have been referenced frequently in reviews and promotions of screenwriter Paul Shoulberg's movie Walter, the film wouldn't be as poignant if not for the stellar portrayal of the main character "Walter" by Andrew J. West. From his role as a cannibal in "The Walking Dead" to a Christian (of sorts) in Walter, Andrew's ability to create an awkward, ostensibly autistic 20-something and then transform him into a more relatable character as the story progresses is the beauty of watching this film. If you only add one independent movie to your watch list this year, make it Walter.

"Walter" is a movie for the wtf bin. If you like picking movies out of the wtf bin, then you're all set. With a plot as bizarre as the whimsy of Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") and a deadpan comedic presentation like something you might find Bill Murray in ("Groundhog Day", "Scrooged") and an artistic visual approach to everyday scenery ("Joe Vs the Volcano", "Buffalo '66"), this film is like an amalgamation of all the cool quirky flicks that exist under the radar. And yet it has a distinctly original vibe that sets it apart from the rest.

The plot in one sentence: A 20-something OCD nerd who could pass for Rain Man's younger brother is tasked with the surprisingly easy task of determining whether people go to heaven or hell, but when he gets snagged on a technicality (a lovably pesky ghost whom he can't seem to figure out), his meticulously structured life starts to come apart, prompting him to seek treatment from a therapist (William H Macy) who himself is just 1 session away from the looney bin. If I lost you, never fear, the plot isn't important. Although it certainly has its twists & turns and a well crafted mystery, the plot isn't as central as is the character development and deconstruction of our hero whose name is, you guessed it, "Walter".

Though the story is very surreal, supernatural and fantasy-like, the visual presentation is very realistic (no dazzling special effects or acid trip sequences) which fits perfectly. Walter's life, as bizarre as it is to us, is normal to him, mundane and ritualistic. So the low key camera work is appropriate, forsaking sight gags in lieu of subtle storytelling through symmetry, repetition, attention to detail and all those things Walter surrounds himself with. That is until Greg the ghost enters his life, and that's when things start getting a little weird.

Top notch acting by everyone on screen, from the complex Walter to the peripheral weirdos he works alongside at the movie theater, from the cynical & wacky therapist (Macy) to the rational & stoic ghost who seems to be the only sane character in the story, and all of this is glued together by Walter's 1 true lifeline to reality, his mother (Virginia Madsen) who seems to be dangling over the edge of a nervous breakdown the whole time.

"Walter" made me laugh out loud a few times, but you shouldn't expect a comedy. It's really more of a quirky drama along the lines of a Terry Gilliam film ("Brazil", "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas") but with a more indie approach. Aside from broad similarities to the cult classics I've mentioned, there aren't too many flicks that compare. But it reminded me of the unknown gems "Little Sister" (about an ex-goth girl turned nun who returns to her backwoods hometown), "Dark Mind" (a more serious and visually stylish thriller about the complexities of a paranoid agoraphobe), and an awesome Italian flick "The Ferpect Crime" (about a guy trapped in the women's section of a department store and somehow he meets a ghost or two). Yes, "Walter" may proudly take its place smack dab in the middle of the coveted wtf bin. The world needs more flicks like this.