Movie review - The Walk (2015)

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Worst blogger ever.

I have been AWOL for about a week and a half now - work has been insanely busy and we have had some social commitments that have left me a little... fragile, let's leave it at that.

But we also managed to fit in a couple of cinema trips - and the first review I have is for The Walk, which we went to see in 3D a week or so ago. I am so glad we made the trip to a different cinema than our normal one to catch this in 3D... what a spectacle! The film tells the true story of Phillipe Petit's high-wire stunt between the twin towers in the 1970s. As someone who is scared of heights, I was grateful to watch this from the comfort of a cinema chair! The film is really broken into two parts - the first part dealing with all the preparations involved in 'Le Coup' (as it was called), and the second dealing with the actual event.

The movie does an excellent job of giving the audience all the sensations of height, peril and drama that you would expect at the top of the twin towers, with no safety net. It told the story very closely, and if you saw the documentary Man on Wire, you will see it all played out in the film. However, the film doesn't really give a rounded picture of Petit's character, which watching the documentary does. A very egotistical man, who is portrayed as a big dreamer and a bit of a hero. That being said, it wasn't something that bothered me, in particular - despite all (no spoilers here!) you see of Petit in the documentary, you're kind of on his side - just an observation.

I was wondering how the film would deal with the twin towers legacy. The towers were the iconic backdrop of NYC for so long, and were the making of so many stories, such as this. In a post-9/11 era, it's very hard to make a film where they have such a central role. The audience watches, listening to and watching how integral the towers were in so many lives, privy to a knowledge the characters do not have. It is dealt with subtly and in the most beautiful way.

The real star of this show was the movie-worthy-story and the jaw-dropping views. Go and see it, and see it on the biggest 3D screen you can find.

The Walk - 7/10