Christopher Walken Made Me Cry

I'll never forget my reaction to A Late Quartet. I remember becoming emotional during a scene where Christopher Walken sees his dead wife while listening to a piece of music. Its strange how a song or sound can take you back to a place, a feeling or a person. I did tear up a little towards the end but I literally burst into tears when the film ended and I had left the cinema. It was so bizarre. My parents who had met me after the film were surprised as well. I have never cried so much from a reaction to a film. But really it was Christopher Walken. If it had been anyone else, I don't think I would have reacted the same way.

From his smal roles, to scene stealers in Pulp Fiction and True Romance, to his front and centre stage, to him playing Puss in Boots to him playing his cello to his Batman villain to his award winnging performance in The Deer Hunter, Walken has done it all and at 74 years old, he's still going.  I love it when Walken shows up in a film you forget he was in, such as one of my guilty pleasures, Excess Baggage. He shows up as Alicia Silverstone's spoilt teen's wealthy father's fixer. That was a mouthful. He is probably the best thing in this midjudged 90s quirk of a film as he deadpans throughout, being sinister yet caring all in one.

Focusing on a few choice scenes where his vast filmography, Walken engages deep within his characters and makes you believe whatever comes out of his mouth, heartbreaking and terrifying in turn, depending on what character he is playing.

In Catch Me If You Can, playing Frank Abagnale, Sr to his con artist son, there isn't one particular scene that shows off Walken's talent, but the entire film. Most likely why he was nominated for this role for quite a few awards. His devotion to his son, no matter what he's done, his connection with him is heartbreaking, all the more on the last time he sees his son. A less talked about, maybe forgotten gem in both Walken and Leonardo DiCaprio's catalogue.

There are a few things I didn't take to in Seven Psychopaths, mainly the lack of female characters that were actually allowed to do anything, but from writer and director Martin McDonagh's previous work, he tends not to focus on female characters, that is, until his recent work of art, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. Although Colin Farrell's Marty with writer's block is the central character and technically not one of the psychopaths and Sam Rockwell is superb, its Walken's Hans Kieslowski who really is the magnificent psychopath of the story. SPOILERS The scene in which Hans reveals to Marty that he is fact the Quaker, the man who stalked his daughter's killer, a story that Marty had been talking about as he made the story up, is artful. How Walken calmly explains the story and shows his scar is subtle and chillingly brilliant.

Of course my reaction to Walken in A Late Quartet was the reason for this post. A group of great actors giving great performances but Walken stand out as the one keeping the quartet together. When he stops the performance at the end, after all the fighting, tears and lies have come out, he decides to leave as he can't keep up. Signifying the end of an era and a new beginning. This is a moment, as well as the his memory of his wife, as one the moments that makes Walken a great actor.

I read once in an article that the reason why Christopher Walken is in so many films, even terrible ones, is that he loves working. One of my favourite works of art Walken has been in is most definitely the music video 'Weapon of Choice' by FatBoySlim. I'm sure we've all seen it, if not all of it, you've heard of it. Walken dances likes the pro he is around a stylish hotel, eventually flying through the lobby. If you need an actor who can emote such reactions as me, bursting into tears, he is the weapon of choice.

Now please join me watching the great man dancing, its even better than the reel of Cage screaming, for your viewing pleasure, the great Christopher Walken.