The Walk (2015 film)

The Walk
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Zemeckis
Screenplay by	Robert Zemeckis Christopher Browne
Produced by	Tom Rothman Steve Starkey Robert Zemeckis Jack Rapke
Starring	Joseph Gordon-Levitt Ben Kingsley Charlotte Le Bon James Badge Dale
Narrated by	Monu Singh
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Edited by	Jeremiah O'Driscoll
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Production companies	TriStar Productions ImageMovers LStar Capital
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release dates	October 21, 2015 (2015-10-21) (New York Film Festival) September 30, 2015 (2015-09-30) (United States)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English French
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$38.9 million

The Walk is a 2015 American 3D biographical drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Christopher Browne and Zemeckis. It is based on the story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, and Steve Valentine. The film was released by TriStar Pictures on September 30, 2015, in the United States in IMAX 3D, and on October 9 in regular 2D and 3D. The film was dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Plot

In 1973, French street performer Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is trying to make a living in Paris with juggling acts and wire walking, much to the chagrin of his father. During one performance, he eats a hard candy which was given to him by an audience member and hurts his tooth. He visits the dentist and, while in the waiting room, sees a picture in a magazine of the Twin Towers in New York City. He analyzes the photo and decides to make it his mission to walk a tightrope between the two buildings. Meanwhile, he is kicked out of his parents' house by his father, citing his lack of income and the fact that he's a street performer. Philippe returns to the circus that inspired him to wire walk as a child and practices in the big top after hours, but is caught by Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), whom he impresses with his juggling skills. While performing one day, Philippe meets a beautiful woman and fellow street performer named Annie (Charlotte Le Bon) and they begin a romantic relationship. He also explains that although he didn't know it at the time, she was his first "accomplice". He tells Annie about his dream to walk between the towers of the World Trade Center and she supports him and gives him a perfect place to practice at her music school. Philippe meets a photographer named Jean-Louis (Clément Sibomy) and befriends him, becoming Philippe's official photographer and second accomplice in his "coup".

Philippe asks Papa Rudy for tips and advice on knot tying and rope rigging, which Papa Rudy agrees to for compensation. After failing his first real performance by falling into a lake, Philippe decides to attempt to walk on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to redeem himself. He succeeds with the help of Jean-Louis but is arrested in the process. Jean-Louis introduces Jeff (César Domboy), another accomplice who has a fear of heights, to Philippe and Annie, while explaining his idea to use a bow and arrow tied to a fishing line to get the cable across the Towers. Philippe and Annie then travel to America, setting the date for the walk as August 6, 1974. Philippe dresses in disguises to spy on the construction crews and scout out the locations, impaling his foot on a nail in the process. At one point he meets a man who reveals he is a fan of Philippe's and saw him at Notre Dame. He introduces himself as Barry Greenhouse (Steve Valentine), a life insurance salesman who works in the building, becoming another member of Philippe's team. They also meet French-speaking electronics salesman J.P. (James Badge Dale) and his friends, amateur photographer Albert (Ben Schwartz) and stoner David (Benedict Samuel). The gang go over the plan several times, ending with the notion that Philippe must be on the wire before the construction crews arrive at 7:00 AM.

On the eve of the event, the gang encounter several speed bumps, such as being three hours behind schedule, guards on the premises and nearly dropping the heavy cable off the roof. However, they successfully string up the ropes and set the cables. Philippe begins his walk, explaining that everything around him faded once he started, except the wire and himself, and that for the first time in his life he felt truly thankful and at peace. He successfuly crosses the gap between the towers while crowds below cheer him on. Once he reaches he has an urge to return, so he walks back again across the void. At one point he kneels to his audience and even lies down. The cops arrive, and threaten to remove him by helicopter if he doesn't get off but Philippe relentlessly continues to walk back and forth until he achieves the feat a total of six times. He is arrested on sight, with the police and construction workers commending him on his bravery. Philippe and his accomplices are eventually released and he decides to remain in New York, but Annie chooses to follow her dream, and return to Paris. The building manager gives Philippe a free pass to the observation decks of both towers, and Philippe gives a final look to the camera, with the Twin Towers in the background, as he says the expiry date on the pass was crossed out and changed to "forever".

Cast

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit
• Ben Kingsley as Papa Rudy
• Charlotte Le Bon as Annie Allix
• Clément Sibomy as Jean-Louis
• James Badge Dale as Jean-Pierre
• César Domboy as Jeff
• Ben Schwartz as Albert
• Benedict Samuel as David
• Steve Valentine as Barry Greenhouse

Production

Principal photography began on May 26, 2014, in Montreal, and ended on August 6, 2014.

Philippe Petit personally trained Gordon-Levitt how to walk on wire. He optimistically predicted that the actor would be able to walk on the wire alone after an elaborate workshop of eight days, which the actor did.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who had no formal high-wire experience, trained directly with Philippe Petit. By the end of the eighth day, he was able to walk on the wire by himself, and continued to practice while shooting. Along with a stunt double, the actor shot the climactic wire-walking scenes on a soundstage; it had reconstructions of the top two stories of the tower and a wire approximately twelve feet off the ground, which was connected out across a green abyss and was anchored on a pole. To learn more about what it was like, Gordon-Levitt also walked the distance between the World Trade Center memorial's two pools, which are located where the Twin Towers stood before the September 11 attacks. He visited the original observatory once before, in 2001, during his first summer in New York City. "It was touristy but I wanted to go do it. I remember it distinctly. It felt more like being in the sky than being on a tall building." Aside from wire-walking, Gordon-Levitt also learned to speak French fluently, perfecting a Parisian accent aided by his co-star Charlotte Le Bon and other French actors on set.

Release

The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 26, 2015. It had an early release at IMAX theaters on September 30, 2015, before a wide theatrical release on October 9, 2015.

Reception

Box office

As of November 1, 2015, The Walk has grossed $9.9 million in North America and $28.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $38.8 million, against a budget of $35 million.

The film was released into IMAX theaters on Wednesday, September 30, 2015. In the opening weekend of its limited release, the film grossed $1.6 million, finishing 11th at the box office. During the first weekend of its wide release a week later, the film grossed $3.7 million, coming in 7th.

Critical response

The Walk has received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Gordon-Levitt's performance, Zemeckis' direction, and the visual effects, particularly during the wire walk scene. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 85%, based on 189 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Walk attempts a tricky balancing act between thrilling visuals and fact-based drama – and like its wire-walking protagonist, pulls it off with impressive élan." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

IGN reviewer John Lasser gave the film an 8.6 out of 10 'great' score, saying, "The Walk is an amazing film, and is so on multiple levels. Joseph Gordon-Levitt puts forth such an easy charm crossed with a fierce determination that it is impossible not to fall in love with Philippe Petit as he attempts what sounds utterly suicidal. The planning and set up of the caper are as fun as any heist movie. And, even though everyone watching knows exactly what the film is building towards, the climactic sequence delivers everything you want and more."

See also

• The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
• Man on Wire

External links

• The Walk at IMDb
• The Walk at Box Office Mojo
• The Walk at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Walk at Metacritic