The Walk

Robert Zemeckis has always been a visual filmmaker, but he usually manages to somehow tell a great story to go along with it.  He's one of the few filmmakers who can leave you breathless with the invention of his special effects, whether it be combining live action and animation in a way that did not seem possible before (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), or combining archival footage with new footage seamlessly (Forrest Gump).  But more than that, he can make you equally breathless and involved with his characters and the stories he tells.  I think that's why The Walk, while entertaining, ultimately underwhelmed me.  The last 45 minutes or so of the film are an astonishing visual feat, but the movie never lets us into the minds of its characters.

The film tells the story of daredevil Philippe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who in 1974, stunned the world by walking across a tightrope between the roofs of the Twin Towers.  It's a story that's been told before in film, previously in a documentary which represented Philippe's attempts to allude the guards and police almost like a heist film.  The Walk tries a similar approach, as Philippe rounds up a crew, devises a plan as to how he will sneak past security and get to the roof, and how he will ultimately tie a rope across the massive distance between the towers.  But, in all honesty, it feels as if it's been stretched thin here.  The screenplay credited to Zemeckis and Christopher Browne takes a whimsical and lighthearted approach to the entire affair.  There are few moments when Philippe begins to question what he is doing or fear for his life, except the night before he is going to do the stunt.  Instead, the movie introduces a large cast of colorful characters to act as Philippe's crew, but gives them little to do.

But I think the main thing that annoyed me about the film is the way Zemeckis has decided to tell the story.  He opens the movie with a CG shot of Philippe standing atop the Statue of Liberty, with the Twin Towers behind him.  He talks directly to the camera, saying that he is going to tell us his astonishing story.  This sets the film off on a somewhat hokey tone right off the bat, but it wouldn't be so bad if this was used just at the beginning, and possibly the end as a wraparound sequence.  Unfortunately, the movie keeps on going back to it.  And Philippe's narration is insultingly simple in the way he is constantly spelling everything out.  Even during certain scenes, he talks over the movie in voice over, explaining what the characters are doing, as if we can't figure it out by ourselves.  He spells out the details of how they prepared for his fateful walk, how he gathered people to help him, how they created a wire that could support his weight, etc.  There had to be a better way to get this information across rather than having the main character constantly breaking the fourth wall, and talking directly to us off and on throughout the movie.

But all is pretty much forgiven once Philippe takes to the rope, and begins to perform his stunt of walking across the towers.  Here is where the movie finally demands our full attention, and grabs it.  Is it worth paying the theatrical price just for the last 45 minutes?  Honestly, I think it depends on the viewer.  If you're there for the spectacle, and you are patient, then by all means go.  The recreation of his stunt is one of the most wondrous sights the movies have provided us this year so far.  I think I personally just wanted to be as involved with the rest of Philippe's story as I was with the depiction of the high wire act.  Like I said, there is very little tension in the story, other than the last hour or so.  There are few opportunities where we get a sense of the connection between Philippe and the people who are helping him.  Some of them don't even get a real explanation as to why they are helping him.  If the movie wants to create an atmosphere where these people have to rely on each other to pull it off, there needs to be a personal connection between them, which the movie either never creates or doesn't create a strong enough one.

I really do wish I could be more enthusiastic about The Walk, as by all accounts this is a supremely made film.  The performances work, and the editing and effects deserve some kind of award recognition.  I just simply was not involved in the story it was telling.  There are hints at human relationships, mainly between Philippe and a woman he falls for (Charlotte Le Bon) who becomes the first person to support his vision.  And yet, aside from a scene where the two share a dramatic moment together late in the film, they seldom interact.  The movie also hints at a mentor-student relationship between Philippe and an aging circus performer whom he calls Papa Rudy (a very good Ben Kingsley), but it just doesn't go deep enough to make the relationship satisfying enough for me to get behind it.

The Walk is a movie I can't fully recommend, but I'm glad I saw anyway.  It sort of teeters on the edge of a recommendation, honestly.  If the characters and plot had just been a little more refined and engaging, you would probably be reading a very glowing review.  It's just that when it comes to Robert Zemeckis, I expected to be wowed and have my emotions stirred, and this movie waited too long to do both.

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