Disc Reviews

The Walk Review

27th Jan 2015

Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrays Phillippe Petit, A French Wire walker who one day in the 1970’s gets the idea of casting his line across the top of the new constructed (and still unfinished) world trade centre in New York and performing the highest wire walk known to man.

So begins his journey to perfect his skills as well as slowly gathering together a group of “accomplices” that will help him infiltrate the building and set up all of the rigging in order to perform this extraordinary feat.

The film naturally builds to help build character, but also gives you several tastes of life on the high wire before we get to the grand event itself, and again tension is milked through gaining access to the roof of the building. And all of this is based on fact as this did indeed actually happen for real, and for anyone not in the know – there is an excellent documentary called Man On A Wire which also tells the tale in detail.

Here though we rely on the actors and now small amount of effects work to retell the story here. Robert Zemeckis is probably the most natural selection when it comes to a director to cover such a story as he himself often picks films that are effects heavy, but also in bringing reality to life and really pushing the boundaries for audiences to gawp at.

First of all – anyone who is not a fan of the 3D format may want to reconsider when seeing this film as trickery of that effect does actually help with the viewing of this film. The heights reached and the scale of objects and people is rendered in a way so as to enhance the viewing experience and is not merely a cheap gimmick.

The events of 9/11 have been sewed into many a film for well over a decade now, but not always (in fact barely ever) that successfully. It either goes too far with the schmaltz, or just leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The Walk can’t help but be that film which puts the event right in your face. And the filmmakers know they can’t get round it, or avoid making any sort of commentary about it. And neither do they try to do so. They make sure that we are reminded throughout. In fact a large part of the reason that this film exists is that very fact alone. If the structures were still around today then this would be a very different film all together.

The towers are imposing as they are beautiful to look at. And it is with grace that they are handled. You may get a real sense of vertigo looking down, but whilst the fear of a drop will stop you breathing, you can’t help but get slightly choked up as well by the realisation that these buildings and many of the people inside on that fateful day are now no longer with us, and in the fact of such beauty it is a very sad a melancholic realisation about who were are globally as a human race.

The narration continues and right at the end delivers an almighty and throat grabbing line of dialogue that will leave many with an infinite sadness. The building may cast no shadow, but the events that took place there will forever loom over us.

There are a few extras for this release – all fairly short, a few deleted scenes, some behind the scenes look at the effects, the characters and of course of the real life Petit teaching Gordon-Levit how to be, him!