Robert Zemeckis’ excellent eclectic catalogue of films all have a common thread – they contain characters with a real human depth to them and are usually pushing the envelope in a technological sense. So it seems appropriate that his return to screen is with the biopic of wire walker Philippe Petit in masterful 3D. Zemeckis has used this technology to masterfully recreate the heights and vertigo-inducing sensations of such an experience breaking new cinematic ground.
Based on the autobiographical tale To Reach the Clouds, Zemeckis has drafted the talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Frenchman Philippe, who on an early New York morning in 1974 managed to rig a wire between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers and walk across with no safety harness. It would be impossible not to compare this film to the recent critically and commercially acclaimed documentary Man on Wire (2008), also made from the same source text. Man on Wire is compelling, moving, beautiful, and a sublime film, yet lacks only one thing – footage of Philippe’s incredible act. In recreating this feat Zemeckis has found a niche in the 3D filmmaking market and has exploited it wonderfully to cement a footnote in cinematic achievements in the realm of this technology.
The film starts with Joseph cutting a striking figure atop the Statue of Liberty, beginning the narration for this film. While his heavy French accent is commendable, the overuse of this narrative tool to overcome non-verbal barriers continually jerks one out of the film and becomes irksome. The film plays in three parts. It is firstly a biography where Philippe moves to Paris and learns his trade from mentor Papa Rudy, played wonderfully by Ben Kingsley. The film transitions into a heist once Philippe forms a core supportive network and moves to New York to enlist accomplices to overcome the logistical and physical roadblocks of such a task. The film then culminates in the third extraordinary act of Philippe’s walk.
At its most interesting The Walk examines what it is to dream and to inspire, and the nature of creation and art itself. Such an act like this went beyond mere spectacle and performance and became one of the great transgressive and artistic acts of the 20th century that still contains great power today. This is a love letter to the power and will of humanity itself, fueled by the artistic blaze burning inside Philippe. It is also a monument to the Twin Towers themselves in a post 9/11 environment. Towering over the city skyline, it took a courageous French man to prove ‘anything is possible’ and romanticise the buildings to a generation of Americans.
Zemeckis’ film struggles with the cinematic schism that divides the beauty of Philippe’s creation with the raw evocative fear and awe of the act. Hitchcock’s resting place surely has turned a shade of green from the collective sense of vertigo and uneasiness resonating from each viewing of The Walk. Reports are already surfacing of vomiting in test audiences and I found myself found myself silently reciting the lyrics of Marshall Mathers in the more stomach dropping moments: “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There’s vomit on his sweater already“. Indeed the only thing that stopped me looking away at the more heart-palpitating moments was my duty to observe all critical moments. I certainly wasn’t alone and I could feel the tightening knot of dozens of stomachs around me.
The Walk is certainly a worthy film and has entered a new realm of 3D filmmaking. The sense of dread and fear is palpable. However, I fear the beauty of the act is divorced in the act of creating this tension and awe. A saving grace is Gordon-Levitt’s grace and mild comic touch that he brings to the role. One of the few times Philippe’s narration didn’t suspend the flow was out on the wire itself where he gave words to such a indescribable and unique moment. The Walk definitely has a few flaws including a shallow development of the ancillary characters and a redundant over-explanation of why all the French characters choose to speak in English, but it is more than made up for in its groundbreaking evocative vertigo sensations. This film is definitely not one to miss for fans of 3D; just don’t have any of mum’s spaghetti before seeing this one.
The Walk is in cinemas from 15th October through Sony Pictures.
