In a way, this film sort of has a bit of a chip on its
shoulder as it is a film released in the post-9/11 era that is based almost
entirely around the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. But hopefully that
doesn’t completely turn people away from this film because it actually focuses
on a true story of the Twin Towers that was magnificent instead of tragic. When
the towers were first built in 1973, the initial reaction towards them was
generally negative amongst New Yorkers, many of whom referred to them as being
‘ugly’ and ‘oversized’. But on August 7th, 1974, that all changed
when French high-wire artist Philippe Petit ‘humanized’ the Towers by tightrope
walking between them, situated at least 1,350 feet up in the air. This unique
part of history had previously been explored in the 2008 documentary ‘Man on
Wire’, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary that year. This year sees the
release of a new adaptation of Petit’s story in the form of ‘The Walk’,
directed by Robert Zemeckis, director of numerous film classics including
‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, and my all-time favorite film
trilogy, ‘Back to the Future’. With ‘The Walk’, Zemeckis achieves a pure
cinematic achievement by giving us a film that is not only visually stunning
but also one that is full of heart that will hopefully inspire others to follow
their dreams, however impossible they may seem.
As he narrates throughout the film while stationed on the
torch of the Statue of Liberty, we are introduced to Philippe Petit (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt), who in 1973 was a juggler/wire-walker who performed daily in
the streets of France having been inspired to become a performer after a trip
to the circus when he was younger. One day, after a minor incident during a
performance requires a trip to the dentist, he learns about the Twin Towers that
are currently under construction in New York City from a magazine. Inspired to
tight-rope across the towers before they are completed, Petit starts to train
in the art of high-wire walking under former circus performer Papa Rudy (Ben
Kingsley) and begins to plan his coup to walk across the Twin Towers with the
help of his girlfriend Annie (Charlotte Le Bon) and a few other ‘accomplices’
as well, including photographer Jean-Louis (Clement Sibomy) and algebra teacher
Jeff (César
Domboy). Once in New York, Petit comes across additional help as well in Barry
Greenhouse (Steve Valentine), a life-insurance agent who works at the Towers,
French speaking local New Yorker Jean-Pierre (James Badge Dale), a second
photographer named Albert (Ben Schwartz), and stoner David (Benedict Samuel),
who all help Petit as he undertakes the illegal operation of rigging his wire from
the observation decks of what were, at the time, the tallest buildings in the
world.
Obviously the biggest selling point of the film is the
20-minute sequence at the end in which Petit performs his famous high-wire act
between the towers. Zemeckis has stated that he wanted the audience to get an
idea of what the view was like for Petit on the high-wire instead of just
looking at it from the audience’s usual perspective down below and he
definitely succeeds in that regard. This was a film that was made for IMAX 3D,
effectively making you feel like you’re on the high-wire along with Petit. Though
with that said, it has been reported that some audiences ended up getting sick
during this part when the film first premiered in New York. So if you’re scared
of heights, this definitely isn’t your kind of film. But hopefully that doesn’t
completely discourage some of you from seeing this film because the high-wire
walk really is one of the best film moments of the year and even though you
know what’s going to happen, you’re still on the edge of your seat throughout this
entire sequence. The buildup to it is really great as well. Again, while we may
know how everything turns out, it’s actually really fun to watch Petit and his
team undertake their obviously illegal operation. We see how Petit comes across
his ‘accomplices’, how he and his team figure out how to rig the wire to the
towers, and see them overcome certain obstacles and issues. It’s all done at a
brisk pace that makes the film compelling throughout.
One of Robert Zemeckis’ greatest strengths as a director is
that he really knows how to find the heart and characters within an
unbelievable story. And one of the reasons why this film works as well as it
does is because while it is definitely a visually beautiful film, it also has a
great amount of heart to it as well. It’s an awe-inspiring tale of the strength
of the human spirit and how one man was able to make a seemingly impossible
dream of his possible, which in turn can hopefully inspire others to make their
own dreams a reality. A lot of this is due to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s phenomenal
lead performance as Petit. Not only does Levitt get the French accent down very
well but he also exudes a ton of charisma, which is obviously a key thing for
anyone who is a performer. Levitt is backed up by a very nice supporting cast
of characters headlined by Ben Kingsley as Petit’s wise mentor Papa Rudy and
Charlotte Le Bon as his lovingly supportive girlfriend Annie. But then there
are a few other members of Petit’s band of accomplices that also stand out as
well, particularly James Badge Dale as the French speaking New York native
Jean-Pierre and César
Domboy as Jeff, an algebra instructor who has to overcome a fear of heights in
order to help Petit achieve his dream. While some of the members of the team
are introduced perhaps just a bit too late into the film to get any real chance
to stand out amongst their peers, namely the secondary photographer and the
stoner, most of the other members of the group do at least get their own moments
to shine during a film that ultimately belongs to Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
I legitimately have no idea why this film isn’t doing so
well at the box-office despite getting great reviews. Is it because of the
‘post-9/11’ thing or the fact that some people got sick watching this film’s
climax? Whatever the reason is, I sincerely hope that this doesn’t become this
year’s next ‘Tomorrowland’, especially when considering that both films wear
their hearts on their sleeves and honor the dreamers of the world. I’ve said it
before and I’ll say it again; we need more films like this that promote
positive messages of hope and perseverance that will hopefully inspire future
generations to dream big. Obviously the biggest aspect of the film is the scene
in which Petit walks across the towers, a visually stunning sequence that makes
the film an absolute must-see in IMAX as well as the best 3D film that I’ve
seen this year. Hopefully 9/11 isn’t one of the reasons why this film isn’t
doing so well commercially because even with all that happened on that day in
mind, this film is actually a very touching tribute to the Twin Towers in how
it honors a joyous moment in the history of the Towers that were originally
built as a symbol of hope. I’d also like to point out that this film ends on a
particularly poignant note that doesn’t actually bring up 9/11 but does clearly
allude to it, resulting in a pretty darn powerful conclusion to what is easily
one of my favorite films of this year.
Rating: 5/5!
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