Wallenda made it across safely that day. That is not to say that there aren't dire consequences for performing a tight rope act. In 1978, Nik's 73 year old relative Karl Wallenda fell 121 feet to his death during a high wire attempt in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (The footage on Youtube is horrifying as he stumbles on the wire and is unable to hold on.)
Almost forty years before Nik Wallenda made his successful attempt across the Grand Canyon (and five years before he was even born) and four years before Karl's tragic death, French street performer, acrobat, and high wire artist Philippe Petit did the unthinkable. He strung a cable between the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. "The Walk" chronicles not only the, well, ya know, WALK, but the events leading up to it.
The first forty five minutes of the film are hit and miss as we are introduced to Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his "accomplices." The standouts among them are Jeff, a mathematics teacher with a fear of heights (Cesar Domboy), and Annie, a street musician played by Charlotte Le Bon. It took me about a half an hour after first seeing Le Bon to shake off the massive sense of deja vu I was having. At first I thought it was Paz Vega from Spanglish (below).
Then I thought it might be Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera) from "Nacho Libre:"
But no, it was Montreal born Le Bon:
But you get what I'm saying here, right?!? (Apparently this look is in fashion in Hollywood. But don't get too comfortable. You can cash in for one major release and then you're replaced a few years later by a younger model.)
Anyway, back to the movie. I wasn't crazy about Gordon-Levitt speaking directly to the camera early on. His French accent was a little too Saturday Night Live sketchy. However, as the movie continues, it actually becomes a more effective device that drew great emotion from me, particularly at the end of the film.
Where it REALLY takes off is when the crew arrives in New York City to plot Petit's highly dangerous and illegal attempt to walk between the towers. Many of these scenes have the feel of a great heist movie and had me gripping my armrest.
Naturally, the best sequences are of the walk itself. "Everest" and "Gravity" both used IMAX 3D expertly. However, I don't think I've ever seen anything more spectacular in this format before and it may be a long time until it's used this effectively again. Expect trophies being awarded to the technical wizards who made the towers and the walk come to life.
By this time, you are fully invested in Petit and his dream. But what really helps is the recreation of the World Trade Center itself. When Petit first plants his chin against the wall of one of the skyscrapers and looks up, waaaaaay up, I realized that my 13 year old companion was born months after they disappeared from the New York skyline. That filled me with melancholy. Like Everest, the Twin Towers become an inanimate major character in their respective films.
I first became aware of the Twin Towers as a boy when I saw a really awful movie featuring King Kong scaling pathetic models of them in the mid-1970's. I always wanted to see them in person and unlike Petit, who had a deadline to attempt his walk before construction was completed, I thought they'd be waiting there for me forever. While there is a feeling of euphoria as the film nears its end, you also experience a deep feeling of loss as well.
"The Walk" is a stirring tribute to those towers, as well as the man they inspired.
3.5 out of 4 stars
The real Philippe Petit as he walks between the Twin Towers.
Petit was also the subject of the 2008 Oscar winning documentary "Man on Wire."
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