Barefoot in Athens (1966)

Barefoot in Athens (George Schaeffer, 1966)
Walken plays: Lamprocles - Son of Socrates, aspiring warrior, impassioned public speaker



Synopsis: This made-for-TV adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play details the trial and final days of Socrates (Peter Ustinov) before his self-imposed death by hemlock poisoning. It's nearly impossible to find a full version of the film now, let alone a decent quality copy (and, truth be told, I only found a couple of brief scenes other than Walken's uploaded to YouTube), but it looks to be well worth watching to completion. Even in only the excerpts I glimpsed, the script cleverly teases out the intricacies of the Athenian political machinations and Socrates' idealistic (or belligerent) refusal to compromise play the game, and I'm sure the similarities to Jesus' trial by Pontius Pilate are hardly coincidental. There are some great, dryly funny moments of social critique (Socrates' family is advised to dress shabbily and rehearse their crying in advance of his trial to try to court public sympathy), and Ustinov's droll, blustery performance helps keep things lively and defuse the stiffness that plagues so many older period dramas.

The film's main talking point now is due to it being Walken's feature film debut (okay, not cinematic debut, but still). His Lamprocles (who sounds like a Pokémon), is Socrates' oldest son, and dutifully gets to tick off many of the requisite 'earnest son' boxes. He wants to go to war, but doesn't have the money. He tries to convince his father to preserve his life, values be damned. And he tries to rabble-rouse to win the approval of the masses to keep his father alive, to no avail. Cliché or not, baby-faced Walken (only 23 here!) nails the earnestness, while adding the slightest swagger, which is invaluable in keeping Lamprocles from falling flat. His accent is a bit wobbly throughout, but this is more cute than distracting. He's only in about five combined minutes of the movie, most of them sitting at the dinner table, but makes a strong impact while there. He's given a nice moment to shine in the trial scene, where he caves to existential despair in the midst of pleading for his father's life, and Walken's shift from wide-eyed fury to broken tears is truly moving.



Wacky Walken dialogue: No wacky dialogue to be found here, but his trial mini-monologue is pretty damn memorable: "If my father is found guilty, for listening to find the truth, then I give no allegiance anywhere! I am lost. And Athens is lost. And I can see only darkness." Chilling.

DOES HE DANCE: No dancing either. Probably good, as it's only a whistle away from transforming into a remount of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Wait - what am I talking about? That would be amazing! Dance, Walken! Dance, Ustinov! Dance!

Overall Walken-o-meter: 3/10 cowbells. Walken's debut filmic performance is solid, and his bit in the trial is genuinely excellent, but it's ultimately too insubstantial a part, and too early in his career, for him to work in his characteristic weirdness. If anything, it's most interesting to notice how traditionally theatrical his voice is throughout, inconsistent accent and all, drawing attention to how his modern charActerisTic inFLECtion is more of a construction than you'd think. It's an interesting watch, but one for the most dogged fans only.