THE WALK

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Robert Zemeckis has had one of the most intriguing careers of the director. From revered classic films like Back to the Future and Forest Gump, to fan favourites like Death Becomes Her and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Zemeckis has made some incredible films over the course of his career. However, his more recent films have not been as greatly received as Zemeckis pushes the limits of technology in filmmaking with titles like Here and Beowulf, to films on paper that should have worked but failed to connect such as Allied and The Witches. Though, one of the best films of his later filmmaking career is without question 2015’s The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as French high-wire artist Philippe Petit and telling the story of his high-wire walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

While not a heist film itself, Zemeckis and fellow screenwriter Christopher Browne’s screenplay that adapts Petit’s book To Reach the Clouds portrays the story with the elements of a heist film, energizing the first two acts of the film as Petit and his crew prepare for the big high-wire walk. This framing of the story brings some good laughter as Petit’s plan does not go exactly to plan, at the same time as raising the anticipation and stakes for the film’s central high-wire walk, with each individual fulfilling a member of the team and bringing Petit closer to his dream. Balanced with this is an exploration of Petit and his obsession of completing the high-wire walk, and the cost of that on his relationships, helping to build a compelling character arc alongside the jaw-dropping final act of the film. Where the screenplay struggles is with the film’s insistence on Petit breaking the fourth wall, directly speaking to the audience, which feels out of place during the film’s first two acts when the same information could have been communicated through narration, as done in the film’s big high-wire walk itself.

Even with an imperfect French accent that at times takes viewers out of the film, Gordon-Levitt delivers a great performance as Petit, making for one of the best performances of his career to date. Capturing Petit’s drive to achieve the impossible and showcasing a great athleticism performing his own high-wire walk stunts, Gordon-Levitt confidently leads the film and ensures that the audience believes not only in Petit’s dream, but his ability to achieve them. Charlotte Le Bon is sweet as Annie Allix, Petit’s girlfriend at the time and her budding romantic chemistry with Gordon-Levitt is endearing, though it is in Annie’s moments of tough love to Petit as she keeps him grounded despite his lofty goals where Le Bon shines in her performance. The rest of the cast playing Petit’s crew for the high-wire walk of James Badge Dale, Clément Sibony, César Domboy, and Ben Schwartz are all entertaining and add to the excitement of the heist element of the storytelling, while Ben Kinglsey is dependable as Papa Rudy, even if his accent is ridiculous. 

Though, by the time the film reaches its final act with Philippe performing his high-wire walk, all nitpicks audiences have with the film immediately disappear. Gordon-Levitt’s wire walking training with Petit himself pays off, combined with Zemeckis' digital wizardry recreating the top of the World Trade Center and super-imposing Gordon-Levitt’s face onto his stunt double for select more dangerous moments of the high-wire walks, it's nothing short of an astonishing sequence. Under Zemeckis’ direction, you feel the death defying stakes of Petit’s high-wire walk as well as a sense of calming tranquility as Petit enters the zone, while the combination of special effects and set construction gives a sense of vertigo that ensures audiences’ will be holding their breaths in fear at time. This sequence is the big payoff of the entire film, and there is no doubt it delivers on its promise, creating both a sequence of majestic movie magic and one that becomes a lasting tribute to both Petit’s legacy and that of the World Trade Center.

There is no question that the film reaches heights that will have viewers holding their breath in awe of the marvelous achievement of Philippe Petit, and while The Walk never reaches the heights of the pinnacle of Robert Zemeckis’ talents as a filmmaker, there is no denying that there is both a thrill and magic to the way in which Philippe Petit’s high-wire walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center comes to life on screen under Robert Zemeckis’ direction that makes for an entertaining watch.