Lucas Versantvoort / 9 Oct 2015
I doubt there's a review of The Walk that doesn't
refer to 9/11. Ever since I saw the trailer, I was curious how a film about the
man who walked a tightrope between the two towers would be successful in our
post-9/11 era. Don't get me wrong: I'm not one of those 'Never Forget' people.
My stake in this is purely an intellectual one. 9/11 is still such a touchy
subject and The Walk treats the towers as a miraculous spectacle, so of course
I couldn't help but wonder how director Zemeckis would pull this off, but pull
this off he has.
Petit stands on top of the statue of
liberty and assumes the role of narrator. He tells us that when people ask him
why he risks death, he says that to walk on the wire means precisely the
opposite to him: life. We flashback to his childhood, his early fascination
with wire-walking, how his father disapproved; you get the idea. He works as a
street artist (emphasis on artist, Petit would say) and soon meets another fellow
artist, a guitar player, Annie. They of course start seeing each other and he
tells her his plan of walking between the towers. They travel to New York,
gather a rag tag group of accomplices and start planning their coup.
By far the film's greatest asset is
its humorous and adventurous spirit. Zemeckis's influence is most felt here.
The early scenes involving Petit's childhood and his Paris days are told with a
humor and forward momentum that are quite infectious. All this is helped by
Levitt's acting. I must admit I had some doubts when I saw his typically boyish
face, cheeky eyes and heard his broken 'Frenglish' in the trailer, but he is
very believable.
Zemeckis's style extends to how The
Walk treats the towers. You'd expect there to be some kind of sentimental wink
and nod that refers to the obvious tragedy, but I honestly found none, at least
none that were oh so obvious. The Walk plays out as if the tragedy never took
place and within the context of this film, I'd say that's the best strategy.
The Walk is about Petit's fascination with tightrope walking, not a documentary
on how jet fuel can't melt steel beams.
Unfortunately, things aren't looking
too good on the drama front. When the film's having fun with its zesty style,
I'm having fun as well, but there are times when we're forced to trod through
dramatic scenes that don't have a lasting impact. This is mostly felt in Petit
and Annie's relationship which is never really fleshed out. What's worse is
that she doesn't really do anything important and their relationship is hardly
the focal point of the film, so it's extra hard to care about the outcome of
their relationship.
There's a part of me that finds The
Walk a tad exploitative, mainly due to its use of 3D. A couple of years ago, a
documentary on Petit was made. This story has basically already been told, but
now Zemeckis, that trusty Hollywood magician, is going to recreate the same
events...IN 3D!! I highly doubt Zemeckis would have made The Walk if 3D
technology didn't exist. As for the 3D itself, it's impressive at times, but
mostly functional. There's a few scenes that involve objects flung at the
audience at high speed which has got to be the easiest trick in the book. Come
on, Zemeckis. Did your film really need that? It doesn't add anything. It only
makes me aware I'm sitting in a theater, when I'm supposed to be standing right
next to Petit.
Overall though, I'd say The Walk is
a very enjoyable film hampered only by some poorly executed drama. Zemeckis
must've been walking a tightrope himself when balancing the tone of his film,
but I'm glad he went with what he knows: adventure. 9/11 wasn't an issue during
Petit's stunt (obviously), so it shouldn't be an issue in The Walk.
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