Before watching 1982's Who Am I This Time?, the oldest Christopher Walken work I had watched was The Dead Zone. This film was made one year prior. I'll admit to forming certain opinions after viewing this to the point I had to look up information online to settle thoughts. Having searched, I found my hunches were correct: this was a made for television movie.

Being a made for television film explained the low production value, somewhat weak direction, and so-so performances from background characters, plus a running time of 55 minutes. Despite these flaws, you can't put down the performances from Walken and Susan Sarandon one bit. I was in awe of Walken's acting depth here. To be honest, the script by Neal Miller based on Kurt Vonnegut Jr's story played right into the leads very well.

Let me give you a short synopsis for those not fimilar with the story. Walken plays Harry Nash, a small town hardware store clerk who is so painfully shy that the only way he comes out of his shell is performing on-stage at the local playhouse. Sarandon plays Helena Shaw, a newcomer into town that forms great chemistry with Nash on-stage and trys to continue that spark off-stage.

The chemistry between Walken and Sarandon was great. The two played off each other with ease. I say a drawback to having a short running time is that director Jonathan Demme couldn't focus more on the leads backstorys, but then again that could take away from Vonnegut's original work and may not flow.

Overall I was pleased with this film because of seeing two great actors in the early stages of their careers. My intial thought was to give this film a so-so rating but after a little research and a second viewing I give Who Am I This Time? 3 1/2 pitchforks.