The amazing story of French high-wire artiste Philippe Petit is
damn near impossible to screw up. It's simply that incredible, such a sterling
example of the feats human beings are physically and mentally capable of. To
say his story is perfectly made for the cinematic experience would be an
understatement, and it made for a great documentary in James Marsh's
Oscar-nominated Man on Wire just a few years ago. Robert Zemeckis
is a director known as a standard-bearer in the field of visual effects but
little else, and he very nearly screwed up Petit's triumphant feat with his 3D
IMAX spectacle, The
Walk. It's a film that struggles to find its balance for far too long, but
when it does the results are transcendent.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes on the role and
French accent of Petit, a brash, arrogant tightrope walker whose dream is
probably a lot bigger than yours. In 1974 Petit accomplished the unimaginable
feat of walking a high-wire across the World Trade Center Towers. That's 110
stories up, in the middle of bustling New York City at a time when the people
weren't so fond of those two gigantic skyscrapers. But that's the end of the
story, and the film actually begins much earlier with Petit as a street
performer struggling to get by despite his overwhelming ability and confidence.
An aggravating framing sequence has Petit, sitting atop the Statue of Liberty
no less, narrating each step of his journey. It slows down what is already a
burdensome origin in which he has a meet-cute with fellow entertainer Annie
(Charlotte Le Bon), and gets tightrope-walking tips from Papa Rudy (Ben
Kingsley). Always looking for a new place to hang his wire, Petit discovers his
incredible life's dream when he chances on a magazine article about the Twin
Towers.
What made Man on Wire such an unforgettable documentary was
that it maintained all of the hallmarks of a great heist movie. There were
teams assembled with members of various professions and strengths, all
collaborators in Petit's mad and very illegal scheme. That fear of getting
caught and going to jail was a very real thing, but Zemeckis and co-writer
Christopher Browne fail to capture that anxious energy. Instead the tone lacks
any seriousness in the planning stages, and Petit's co-conspirators aren't
given much to do. That's a shame when the group consists of talented actors
like Le Bon, Kingsley, James Badge Dale, and Ben Schwartz. Levitt does a good
job capturing Petit's spirited, mercurial temperament, although his French accent
takes some getting used to.
The mood shifts noticeably once Petit
arrives in the U.S., but the film doesn't actually begin to soar until he's up
on the Tower roof. The film evolves into something glorious, as if
Zemeckis deliberately kept the earlier stuff a little flat so as to make the
actual walk across the wire truly special. This is one case where it's
absolutely essential to pay the extra money for 3D, as you'll be mesmerized by
the dizzying, vertigo-inducing heights. With every step more dangerous than the
last, every one of Petit's theatrical flourishes an act of pure daring, this is
as terrifying and exhilarating as movies get. The greatest compliment that one
can give Zemeckis is that his recreation of Petit's performance is as thrilling
as what we saw in Man on Wire. For
a while you totally forget this is a visual effects creation and that Levitt is
actually quite safe. You can't help but tremble with every move, and have your
breath taken away with every sweeping panoramic view of the city below.
What's lacking is Petit's motivation, or
the motivation in others to support him on what must have looked like a fool's
errand. There just doesn't appear to be much interest in the inspiration behind Petit's
feat, just the feat itself. In that case The
Walk is every bit like a
showman who dares to dazzle the audience but won't bore them with the details.
Rating: 3 out of 5
