Whenever I see a news report of any adventurous activity, I never used to think about the hard work behind it; But Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Walk’, the biographical drama of high-wire artist Philippe Petit, is something that exposed me the unknown effort, hope and contentment behind such activities. The movie follows the dream of a man, Philippe Petit, French born, whose prime endeavor of life is to walk on a wire between the twin towers of World Trade Centre. Actually, the movie’s plot wasn’t something that could keep the viewer engaging for a couple of hours, but the writers, Christopher Browne and Robert Zameckis filled it with some light yet enterprising moments, followed by a breath-taking climax thereby making it a splendid cinematic experience. This is where Robert Zameckis excels, he offered the movie a simple feel and presented a wonderful ending without losing that simplicity; he was brilliant at the technical side even, I was expecting some cut shots and different camera angles in those wire walking sequences, but he kept them simple, with a flavor of thrill. This actually made the ‘dream’ of Petit more expressive.
At the performance side, Joseph Gordon-Levitt perfected as Philippe Petit, for he had that zealous face; his innocent smile in the climax, just filled my heart with satisfaction. Ben Kingsley and James Badge Dale are the other two actors who exposed remarkable performances. Alan Silverstri’s music was matching the mood of the film, had that retro feel. After ‘Martian’, Dariusz Wolski impressed me again with his camera works; the ones on the wire require applause. The movie was great at the technical side, mainly the 3D works at certain parts; editing was crisp without any unwanted scenes.
Overall, Zemeckis’ The Walk though not great, is an enjoyable movie of its own kind which initially amuses, then thrills and later offers an exciting cinematic experience; one of the best biographies in the recent times.
Final Note: Good; watch it in 3D to enjoy better!
