The Walk review (trailer)
The Twin Towers no longer dominate the New York skyline, but its towering presence is forever a challenge in Robert Zemeckis' brilliant reworking of the Philippe Petit story.
SPECTATORS. From left, Barry Greenhouse (Steve Valentine), David (Benedict Samuel), Jeff (Cesar Domboy), Annie (Charlotte Le Bon), Jean Pierre (James Badge Dale), Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Jean Louis (Clement Sibony) and Albert (Ben Schwartz). Pictures: Ster-Kinekor.
Frenchman Petit astounded the world in 1974 when he traversed the high-wire that was strung out between the North and South towers of the World Trade Center. Recreated in all its minute detail, and viewed through the wonders of Imax, this astonishing tale of courage and perseverance, with a huge dose of temper and stubbornness thrown in, has to be seen to be believed.
Shouldering the key role of Petit is the Puck-like actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who dominates every scene and submerges into the role with style and zest.
It doesn’t surprise me to learn that the actor actually studied with Petit in preparation for the role. To his surprise, he was able to master the basics of wire-walking in a mere eight days. In The Walk, he shows his prowess and moves like a natural.
The film dazzles with its engrossing true-to-life story, the meticulous build-up to the famous walk, his often fractious relationship with his team of hand-picked accomplices, and his romantic interlude with the petite Annie (Charlotte Le Bron) who provides the support he needs.
The early part of the film, with scenes filmed in black-and-white in Paris, is pure whimsy as the crazy Petit begins to master the art of wire walking. He is coached by Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), a Czech-émigré acrobat, who thinks the idea is insane. The greater part of the story comes to life when Petit arrives in New York with a three-person crew: Clément Sibony’s dashing and passionate photographer Jean-Louis, César Domboy’s charming acrophobic Jean-François, and Annie.
He picks up a few American accomplices too – most notably James Badge Dale’s swaggering, French-speaking JP. As a team they proceed to fine-tune his plan, which involves figuring out a way to run a cable between the towers without being detected by police or building officials.
Seven years ago James Marsh produced an astonishing documentary, Man on Wire, featuring the real Petit, but that doesn’t diminish Zemeckis’ mesmerising offering because the two are sterling companion pieces, each providing different textures to the same picture.
Gordon-Levitt is magnificent, playing an individual who is executing the most dangerous feat of his life and the Zen-like joy he achieves in his moment of triumph.
