The Walk, 2015.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz and Clement Silbony.
SYNOPSIS:
In 1974, high-wire artist Philippe Petit recruits a team of people to help him realize his dream: to walk the the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.
Many films are entertaining, but very few can transport you to a time, setting, location, and allow you to vicariously live out an astonishing feat. That’s The Walk‘s tallest upside; whether you believe high-wire walker Philippe Petit was crazy or legitimately an artist, there’s no denying that his tightrope act going back and forth between the north and south structures of the World Trade Center is dazzlingly re-created, instilling emotions ranging from vertigo to shell-shocked awe.
Additionally, thanks to Imax 3D (which essentially makes the movie) the power of those feelings are amplified. Eat your heart out James Cameron, because not even Avatar can claim to have used the technology to accomplish CGI wizardry this beautiful. And that’s exactly what The Walk is; graceful beauty that will erase every real-life concern and thought in the back of your head, replacing them with inspiration to fulfill your wildest dreams no matter how insane. If Philippe can organize a ludicrous heist to defy death and walk amongst the clouds, why can’t you spearhead a dream others may have injected doubt in your mind from accomplishing?
That sort of inspirational quality also comes to be the film’s greatest strength and biggest flaw. Since The Walk sets out to encourage everyone ranging from young and old to make waves of their own, overlooking what’s deemed impossible, much of the tone is very whimsical, bearing the sensation of a children’s movie. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes undermines the impending danger while also not allowing director Robert Zemeckis to really get inside the complex persona of Philippe Petit. The story is all disappointingly basic, reminding us over and over that Philippe is just an artist looking for satisfaction.
This also means that many of the supporting characters are just there to toss in their two cents, calling him insane while helping him anyway. Some characters are simply stereotypes (a pothead), while others are just random encounters (photographers and a fan of Philippe that conveniently works inside the World Trade Center). By the end of the movie there are so many accomplices it’s hard to keep track of names, but not very important anyway because they’re all forgettable and irrelevant.
The only supporting character worth a damn is Philippe’s girlfriend Annie, who supports him every step of the way, alongside having a believable relationship together. Philippe’s persistence to take the woman out on a date also works wonders at conveying just how driven his personality is in general. Outside of the wire walking, there aren’t many scenes in The Walk that stand out, but the pairing of a daredevil and musician both desiring greatness make for good chemistry. It also helps that Joseph Gordon-Levitt never once slips out of his French accent, and actually sounds like his real-life counterpart.
Great performances aside, too much of The Walk is plodding, forcing us to anxiously wait for the main event. The filmmakers seem to clearly realize this too, as there are numerous scenes of Philippe walking across wires attached between trees to not only showcase his growth into a professional, but to serve as an appetizer for the real razzle-dazzle. Still, at 123 minutes, some of this could have been cut so the proceedings moved along a bit tighter.
Tension does start to build as the ragtag crew begin breaking into the World Trade Center, shooting cables across one building to the other while avoiding security, but even that eventually begins to drag. There’s also a wildly bizarre moment where Philippe is implied to have been contemplating murdering a civilian with a lead pipe until the man decides nothing fishy is going on and departs back down the stairwell. For one, I’m curious if this actually happened, and two, I’m surprised the MPAA allowed such a scene in a PG rated movie that is otherwise completely accessible to all ages.
Minor nitpicking time, as it’s also somewhat frustrating watching Philippe constantly ask other characters if they speak English in France. He notes that it’s to practice before traveling to New York, but as moviegoers we all really know it’s a studio driven decision to limit subtitles as much as possible. It sometimes borders on insulting watching characters forcefully find awkward reasons to switch languages.
Every single frustration disappears into thin air however once Philippe takes his first step on that wire. The remaining 30 minutes are a balancing act in and of itself of pure horror and beauty. The goal of The Walk is accomplished despite a rough first 90 minutes that often feel like a cliffnotes version describing the journey, The Walk instills a welcome, overbearing sense of wonder and inspiration; the movie magic from blockbusters of years past that now operate on cynicism and boisterous action.
Some may wonder what the point of this movie is with the stellar Man On Wire documentary already available, but it can’t hold a candle to the special effects and absolutely gorgeous imagery that sink your heart in Imax 3D. Both variations of the story serve their purpose, but only The Walk feels like the literal equivalent of a cinematic rollercoaster ride.
The movie as a whole may be three stars, but that last half-hour is grade-A five-star quality cinema.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=qvTY7eXXIMg
Originally published October 1, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
