Robert Zemeckis’s (director of Forrest Gump) “The Walk” is an incredible biopic based on the real-life story of a young wire walk artist Philippe Petit and his friends who dreamt of attaining the impossible feat of walking in the void between the World Trade Center towers.
The film very beautifully catches the moments with 3D effects and is certainly one of the finest released this year so far. This is a true story and unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Catch the movie trailer of ‘The Walk’
The tightrope walk by Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) on the morning of August 7, 1974, was an artistic coup (you also say artistic crime) that stunned those who were witnesses to the moment and even to those who read about the French guy in newspapers around the world. Nevertheless, the 21st century is different when the Twin Towers became very emotionally attached to many around the world after the attack of September 11, 2001.
If we talk about the event, the historic day has already been covered in James Marsh’s Oscar and Bafta-winning 2008 documentary ‘Man on Wire’ but what you watch in ‘The Walk’ is altogether a different experience coupled with fantastic acting and creation of imagery with 3D IMAX technology. Even if most of us know the real-life story and the result, in the end, you will still stay glued to the screen to watch the performance of Petit as well as the two towers.
The film is not just about the great direction or acting; it’s about the accomplishment of an individual and his daredevil dream of tying a 200 feet long cable across two towers above 1350 feet high, which eventually became the reality. Philippe Petit who was only 24 then spent 45 minutes on the wire walking across it not just once or twice but eight times.
‘The Walk’ while focused more on that event, also has a small portion dedicated to Petit’s backstory, childhood, and early life, which although not explored much at least set the tone and the pace of the story that followed. Interestingly, I also loved the performances by the supporting actors led by Ben Kingsley as Papa Rudy (Petit’s mentor) and Charlotte Le Bon as Annie (his love interest).
Finally, I must mention Alan Silvestri’s superb score which certainly enhanced the onscreen drama several notches higher with some kind of antic feeling (I’m not even aware of it with limited knowledge of music). Nevertheless, with IMAX 3D, Zemeckis makes us experience the event in a spectacular way, a never-before exhilarating kind of feeling that stays with you even after you leave the theater.
Where to watch The Walk (2015)
2 thoughts on “The Walk (2015): An Incredible Biopic”