The Walk
2015 · Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Original language: English
- history
- drama
- adventure
The story
The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-washed daylight over Manhattan gives way to dim, dust-grey interiors as a small crew of conspirators prepares in secret, and the film's look shifts with its protagonist's ambition: postcard blues and golden haze on the streets, then cold steel, shadowed girders and vertigo-inducing overhead angles once the wire is strung between the towers. Director Robert Zemeckis leans on a playful, theatrical register, with occasional direct address to camera and a sweeping score that swells with a bright, almost fairy-tale lift. The mood is buoyant and nervy, a caper-like romp with a dreamy, slightly storybook sheen, and it works well for a lazy weekend afternoon or a comfort watch when you want awe without dread. Pacing is brisk until the long, nearly wordless tightrope sequence, which stretches tension into quiet, breathless stillness. Emotionally it follows a dreamer's stubborn devotion to an impossible act and the loyal friends who help him attempt it. Intensity is low: there is peril and a sense of height, but no gore, no sexual content, and no real violence. Suited to viewers who enjoy true-story adventure, Manhattan nostalgia and audacious, joyful risk-taking.
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