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#MovieMonday
By Mandy Widjojo
Movie director Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk tells a true story of a French high-wire walker artist, Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who had the impossible dream to walk the vast space between New York’s WTC Twin Towers. The young dreamer recruits a team of unlikely individuals to achieve his blind ambition.
Gordon-Levitt, who is able to sing and dance well, trained with Philippe Petit himself for eight days to learn the basics of wire walking. He gives an outstanding physical performance throughout, looking rather natural and a little bit corky (he didn’t do all of his own stunts).
From the first moment where Petit practices his skills on a tightrope in Paris, the camera zooming in on his feet touching the rope, the movie presents an intense feeling. This scene pops out, especially when seen in a movie theater, better yet with IMAX 3D projection. Progressing with the second act of the movie, we witness Petit traveling back and forth between Paris and New York to plan for the illegal wire walk with along with his crew. After facing countless close calls before executing the unreasonable plan, Petit finally walks between the towers on a thin cable, 1,350 above ground with no safety net.
The production team astonishingly managed to recreate the Twin Towers flawlessly and realistically. Working with production designer Naomi Shohan and visual effects supervisor Kevin Baillie, Zemeckis had the support to replicate even the tiniest details of the towers especially during Petit’s sky-high walk. It was said that Shohan and Baillie had access to the original blueprints from WTC to build 12 by 18 metre corner of the South Tower, where the centerpiece takes place. Moreover, the filmmakers successfully depicted New York City in 1974 through a view from the roof.
But with the heart-pounding excitement and suspense from Director Zemeckis’s portrayal of the walk, even the busy yet stunning New York City fades away. The audience gets nothing less than a thrilling experience (perhaps stomach-churning for some) and a topic to talk about for days.
Photo by Sony Pictures