At one point in the new film The Walk, high-wire walker Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is asked, after successfully walking a tightrope strung between the two towers of the World Trade Center, why he chose to perform such a dangerous, death-defying act. His answer: “There is no ‘why.’ I just look for a place to hang my wire, and when I find it, I put it there.”
There are a couple of ways you could take this statement. One is a thrilling feeling of limitless possibility. The other is a little more disconcerting: that there was no deeper meaning; Petit simply did it because, well, why not?
In either case, as much as the character’s answer explains his motivations, it also sums up the work of The Walk’s director, Robert Zemeckis. For most of his career, Zemeckis (whose resume includes Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Forrest Gump) has been a big proponent of using special effects to create films that dazzle audiences with the latest that cinematic technology has to offer.
But – particularly in the years since his experiment with motion capture in the groundbreaking The Polar Express – Zemeckis’ films are often less driven by the desire to create meaningful art, and more by how he can show off his latest toy. Watching his movies, it’s obvious that the director loves the thrill of movie magic, but there’s always a feeling that the magic, not the meaning, is the only part he cares about.
The true story of French performer Petit’s quest to wire-walk between the World Trade Center towers in 1974 is an inherently cinematic tale, practically tailor-made for 3D and Imax. Zemeckis captures this element impeccably, with vertigo-inducing shots that will leave audiences white-knuckled. These parts of The Walk are also beautiful, on top of being thrilling. There’s a kind of swooping gracefulness to Zemeckis’ camera that helps us understand what might inspire a man to wobble across a metal cable strung 110 stories above the ground.
This might be enough if there wasn’t also a record of Petit’s walk (the Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire) that presents the more flawed, human side of this story. James Marsh’s 2008 film shows an emotional complexity between Petit and his collaborators that is barely hinted at in The Walk.
The real-life Petit comes off in the documentary as a charming but slightly arrogant dreamer whose behavior alienated the people who cared the most about him. The Walk’s version of Petit displays those traits, too, but with one notable difference: The Walk doesn’t see Petit’s selfish tendencies as bad. He never has to apologize for treating his friends poorly, and the film doesn’t think he should have to.
From a faith perspective, the story of Philippe Petit’s walk is potentially fascinating. It’s a thrilling account of what’s possible when we view what society deems “ridiculous” and “impossible” as real and attainable. It’s also a story of how faith in a person can lead to real pain when that person lets you down. Man on Wire gets this. The Walk does not. With his latest release, Robert Zemeckis disappointingly shows audiences, once again, that he’s far more interested in what he can do with CGI than in telling an impactful story.
Abby Olcese is a freelance film critic and writer based in Missouri. You can find her on Twitter @abbyolcese.
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