The Walk - directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Patrick Baby, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Steve Valentine, Ben Schwartz, Cesar Domboy, Benedict Samuel, Marie Turgeon
Running Time: 123 minutes
Rated: PG - Very, very minor profanity
Does director Robert Zemeckis select projects that are typically 'him' or does he just make any project that he tackles typically him?
It was a question that popped into my head repeatedly while watching "The Walk".
Zemeckis has a unique style that manifests itself in many ways.
Visually he always finds just the right way to shoot key moments.
The braces flying off young Forrest Gump's legs as he runs from bullys and the look of joy on his face that follows, the stunning opening shot in "Contact" following aging radio signals into deep space and of course 'that' shot in the mirror (refer my post here) from the same movie.
He is flashy for sure but I have never seen him be so just for the sake of it.
And he has the uncanny knack of making the unpalatable palatable.
There is some pretty dark stuff in "Forrest Gump"- incest, war, racism and a whole heap of death but most people will tell you that it is a very funny movie.
Refer to his earlier film "Death Becomes Her" which is loaded with all manner of dark, grisly events.
And yet very funny.
Should you need further convincing check out "Back To The Future" again and wonder how the scenes in which Lea Thompsons character drools lasciviously over her own son are merely amusingly awkward and not downright disturbing!
Which in a roundabout way brings us back to "The Walk" - the story of Philippe Petit who set a highwire between the two towers of the World Trade Centre and walked backwards and forwards across it without any safety devices aside from presumably raw skill.
There is very little doubt from very early on that this is a Robert Zemeckis movie.
it is clear from the first scene in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit magically appears atop the torch of the Statue of Liberty spinning a globe which seamlessly transports us to his native Paris where in black and white we see the start of the mans obsession.
Later a simple shot running down the length of the steel wire Petit walks along gives us a fascinating look at the object- the tightly bound curls of the sable seemingly moving before our eyes.
It is an optical illusion but one that Zemeckis is exploiting to great effect.
This in a scene far before we get close to the climactic highwire walk that we are all here to see.
I have seen comments that dismiss this film as waste of time until the last thirty minutes when we see the famous event but for me there is much of interest long before then.
I am not going to argue that the love story angle is anything more than a suitable framework for the events of the first half but I still found it enjoyable.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was taught highwire walking by the real Petit and learned French for the role.
He does give it his all and despite some reservations after the trailers I enjoyed his performance.
And Gordon-Levitts accent turns out to be perfectly fine without actually appearing overly genuine.
The lovely Charlotte Le Bon looking uncannily like a young Winona Ryder is a delightful presence as Annie his girlfriend.
She reportedly assisted Gordon-Levitt with his accent and his French.
Perhaps my main criticism however is the lack of detail provided as to Annies reasons for becoming part of this event but then this is Petit's story so I guess that is what you get.
What people who dismiss all but the climax are missing is that the real story here isn't the what - it is the why.
Sure, walking between two such famous towers over 400 metres above ground is practically the stuff that cinema was invented for but without context it is merely showing off.
I like what writer-director Zemeckis did with the 90 minutes prior.
We aren't shown explicitly what drove Petit to obsess over the feat but there is plenty of indication of what sort of man he is.
The drive and obsession that he displays draws half a dozen others to him.
If you have seen the Oscar winning documentary "Man On Wire" about the tower walk you will know that despite being betrayed by Petit the real life Annie bears him no ill will.
That particular aspect is conveniently ignored in this film which has the unfortunate side effect of making Annie appear unfairly unsympathetic
It's the only part of the film that niggled me but all in all this seems pretty accurate aside from this.
As for that final half hour you may have heard reports of people watching in IMAX 3D vomiting from the spectacle.
I cannot in any way see how this happened and it smacks of pure publicity to me.
As brilliantly shot as the sequence is and as effectively utilised as the 3D is there was little that gave me too much trouble in the vertigo stakes and not much that I thought would bother someone with an intense fear of heights.
Nonetheless it is without a doubt the shining jewel in the crown for this movie.
One remarkable shot has us swooping from the wire all the way down to the street to join the wide eyed spectators looking upwards at Philippe.
Tension is maintained for a considerable portion of this scene even though most people will know that the Petite is alive and well to this day.
I felt my mood shift several times during this scene from anticipation, concern and excitement.
It is a terrifically realised scene and I wondered silently why it was affecting me so much given that I have watched the documentary and know how it turned out.
Great filmmaking is of course the answer.
There is no doubt that this movie will be remembered at least for the immediate future for its climax and that is if not entirely fair then at least to be expected.
What I do hope though is that ultimately it stands as a tribute to a unique act and as a remembrance to the twin towers themselves.
It is easy to forget that aside from the infamous day in 2001 these buildings were rightfully famous in their own right and on their own merit.
This film surely counts as a tribute to them.
More of a biopic than a spectacle flick "The Walk" nonetheless needs to be see in 3D and on the biggest screen available.
My session was IMAX and it is a showcase for the format.
I wasn't bored in the slightest and I enjoyed the performances of Gordon-Levitt, Le Bon and perhaps most of all James Badge Dale.
But the main credit here goes to Zemeckis who shows yet again that he is without equal at delivering offbeat material in a manner entirely acceptable to a mainstream audience without compromising even slightly.
RATING: 75/ 100
CONCLUSION: Far more than a one scene movie this is a fascinating character study and a superbly made film.
Running Time: 123 minutes
Rated: PG - Very, very minor profanity
Does director Robert Zemeckis select projects that are typically 'him' or does he just make any project that he tackles typically him?
It was a question that popped into my head repeatedly while watching "The Walk".
Zemeckis has a unique style that manifests itself in many ways.
Visually he always finds just the right way to shoot key moments.
The braces flying off young Forrest Gump's legs as he runs from bullys and the look of joy on his face that follows, the stunning opening shot in "Contact" following aging radio signals into deep space and of course 'that' shot in the mirror (refer my post here) from the same movie.
He is flashy for sure but I have never seen him be so just for the sake of it.
And he has the uncanny knack of making the unpalatable palatable.
There is some pretty dark stuff in "Forrest Gump"- incest, war, racism and a whole heap of death but most people will tell you that it is a very funny movie.
Refer to his earlier film "Death Becomes Her" which is loaded with all manner of dark, grisly events.
And yet very funny.
Should you need further convincing check out "Back To The Future" again and wonder how the scenes in which Lea Thompsons character drools lasciviously over her own son are merely amusingly awkward and not downright disturbing!
Which in a roundabout way brings us back to "The Walk" - the story of Philippe Petit who set a highwire between the two towers of the World Trade Centre and walked backwards and forwards across it without any safety devices aside from presumably raw skill.
There is very little doubt from very early on that this is a Robert Zemeckis movie.
it is clear from the first scene in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit magically appears atop the torch of the Statue of Liberty spinning a globe which seamlessly transports us to his native Paris where in black and white we see the start of the mans obsession.
Later a simple shot running down the length of the steel wire Petit walks along gives us a fascinating look at the object- the tightly bound curls of the sable seemingly moving before our eyes.
It is an optical illusion but one that Zemeckis is exploiting to great effect.
This in a scene far before we get close to the climactic highwire walk that we are all here to see.
I am not going to argue that the love story angle is anything more than a suitable framework for the events of the first half but I still found it enjoyable.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was taught highwire walking by the real Petit and learned French for the role.
He does give it his all and despite some reservations after the trailers I enjoyed his performance.
And Gordon-Levitts accent turns out to be perfectly fine without actually appearing overly genuine.
The lovely Charlotte Le Bon looking uncannily like a young Winona Ryder is a delightful presence as Annie his girlfriend.
She reportedly assisted Gordon-Levitt with his accent and his French.
Perhaps my main criticism however is the lack of detail provided as to Annies reasons for becoming part of this event but then this is Petit's story so I guess that is what you get.
What people who dismiss all but the climax are missing is that the real story here isn't the what - it is the why.
 |
| Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his crew |
I like what writer-director Zemeckis did with the 90 minutes prior.
We aren't shown explicitly what drove Petit to obsess over the feat but there is plenty of indication of what sort of man he is.
The drive and obsession that he displays draws half a dozen others to him.
If you have seen the Oscar winning documentary "Man On Wire" about the tower walk you will know that despite being betrayed by Petit the real life Annie bears him no ill will.
That particular aspect is conveniently ignored in this film which has the unfortunate side effect of making Annie appear unfairly unsympathetic
It's the only part of the film that niggled me but all in all this seems pretty accurate aside from this.
As for that final half hour you may have heard reports of people watching in IMAX 3D vomiting from the spectacle.
I cannot in any way see how this happened and it smacks of pure publicity to me.
As brilliantly shot as the sequence is and as effectively utilised as the 3D is there was little that gave me too much trouble in the vertigo stakes and not much that I thought would bother someone with an intense fear of heights.
Nonetheless it is without a doubt the shining jewel in the crown for this movie.
One remarkable shot has us swooping from the wire all the way down to the street to join the wide eyed spectators looking upwards at Philippe.
Tension is maintained for a considerable portion of this scene even though most people will know that the Petite is alive and well to this day.
I felt my mood shift several times during this scene from anticipation, concern and excitement.
It is a terrifically realised scene and I wondered silently why it was affecting me so much given that I have watched the documentary and know how it turned out.
Great filmmaking is of course the answer.
 |
| The climax is a stunningly realised thirty minute sequence |
What I do hope though is that ultimately it stands as a tribute to a unique act and as a remembrance to the twin towers themselves.
It is easy to forget that aside from the infamous day in 2001 these buildings were rightfully famous in their own right and on their own merit.
This film surely counts as a tribute to them.
More of a biopic than a spectacle flick "The Walk" nonetheless needs to be see in 3D and on the biggest screen available.
My session was IMAX and it is a showcase for the format.
I wasn't bored in the slightest and I enjoyed the performances of Gordon-Levitt, Le Bon and perhaps most of all James Badge Dale.
But the main credit here goes to Zemeckis who shows yet again that he is without equal at delivering offbeat material in a manner entirely acceptable to a mainstream audience without compromising even slightly.
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