Touch Review: Paul Schrader and Elmore Leonard Prove to Be Odd Pairing in Throwback Clunker

For a down-to-Earth, grimy filmmaker like Paul Schrader, Touch is a bit of an odd detour. The subject matter – a preacher (played by Christopher Walken) and his friend (Bridget Fonda) attempt to exploit a stranger (Skeet Ulrich) capable of healing the less fortunate – is too wacky or insincere to feel like a perfect match with Schrader’s exacting and deliberate style.

And yet, Paul Schrader still almost stays afloat, although his contemporary influences shine through in large swaths quite frequently. The material and execution resemble his pulpy acquaintances more than Schrader himself, from the mundane tone to pastel-ridden set design. The neo-noir pastiche, combined with Elmore Leonard’s source material, is better served in the hands of the Coens or Steven Soderbergh or Quentin Tarantino. The same self-serious tone that Paul Schrader has blanketed over many of his releases (Mishima, Light Sleeper, First Reformed, etc.) is absent here.

Skeet Ulrich and Bridget Fonda are good, but Christopher Walken ultimately overshadows them for most of the runtime for this exact reason. He’s most in-tune with the direction and tone, as the supernatural, indefinable premise lends itself to his tongue-in-cheek delivery.

More than anything, Touch is a film about adults hangin’ out; nothing wrong with that, it’s just that Paul Schrader has accomplished more time and time again. As a pretentious critic might say: a minor Schrader effort.

Rating: 5/10

Touch (1997)

• Cast: Bridget Fonda, Christopher Walken, Skeet Ulrich, Tom Arnold, Gina Gershon
• Director: Paul Schrader
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
• Runtime: 96 minutes
• Rated: R
• Release Date: February 14, 1997

More Movies Directed by Paul Schrader

Paul Schrader has directed many movies, including:

• Blue Collar (1978)
• Hardcore (1979)
• American Gigolo (1980)
• Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
• Light Sleeper (1992)
• Touch (1997)
• First Reformed (2018)
• The Card Counter (2021)
• Master Gardener (2022)
• Oh, Canada (2024)

More Movies Starring Bridget Fonda

Bridget Fonda has starred in the following movies:

• Easy Rider (1969)
• The Godfather Part III (1990)
• Army of Darkness (1992)
• Touch (1997)
• Jackie Brown (1997)
• A Simple Plan (1998)

More Movies Starring Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken has starred in the following movies:

• Annie Hall (1977)
• The Deer Hunter (1978)
• King of New York (1990)
• Batman Returns (1992)
• Pulp Fiction (1994)
• Touch (1997)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• Catch Me If You Can (2002)
• Dune: Part Two (2024)