The Walk (2015)
Certified: PG
Duration: 123 minutes
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Steve Valentine
KRS Releasing Ltd

In the 1970s Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one of the best street performers around. He was mentored by Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), a renowned circus performer.

When in Paris, Philippe meets and gets close to a street guitarist named Annie Allix (Charlotte Le Bon). Another protagonist is Jean Louis (Clement Sibony), an anarchist and a photographer who is a huge admirer of Philippe’s spirit.

After the group manages to get Philippe to walk on a tightrope between the two towers of the Notre Dame, they choose their next target: the World Trade Centre in New York. But such a feat goes against the law. They find help from Jean François (Cesar Domboy), who is a maths teacher and is scared of heights but who helps them get some information.

A salesman, Jean Pierre (James Badge Dale), hears them talking in French, understands their plan and decides to join them. Other recruits are Barry Greenhouse (Steve Valentine), who works in the towers and who knows Philippe from the Notre Dame exploit and Albert (Ben Schwartz) and David (Benedict Samuel).

The plan starts to come together almost like a heist preparation. Trouble lurks around every corner but Philippe must actually do the walk, which feels never-ending.

Robert Zemeckis has directed some fabulous movies in his career with Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and Who Framed Roger Rabbit being some of my favourites.

His latest film The Walk is simply impeccable not only because it is a true story about an incredible feat but even more so because he immerses us in the adventure and once Gordon-Levitt starts taking his first steps on that wire, we are right there with him.

It is the film’s combination of various elements and Zemeckis’s direction that make it a different experience altogether.

Gordon-Levitt, who has transitioned from a child actor into serious movies as Don Jon, 50/50 and Inception is his usual charming self. And it is very believable not only that he will pull off such a daredevil stunt but that he will also get a group of people to follow him and help him organise it.

Zemeckis seems to have had a thrill directing the sequence of the actual walk. I am sure there will be members of the audience who will close their eyes as that incredible sense of vacuum may be too much to bear for some, especially with the 3D effect. His greatest feat, however, is that although the audience knows the conclusion because the story is out there in the public domain, he still manages to keep them on the edge of their seat.

This shows off Zemeckis’s skill at telling a good story. He also makes us forget that this tale has already featured in the 2008 Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire, featuring the real Petit and his feat.

Another interesting aspect is that the setting is the Twin Towers and the film is an ode to those fallen buildings.