WASHINGTON — Fourteen years after 9/11, it’s still hard to see the Twin Towers on screen.
To stare down from their heights in 3D glasses and buy into a protagonist’s death-defying stunt feels odd considering it was the final view for so many that dark September day.
And yet in “The Walk,” director Robert Zemeckis manages to transport us back to a time when the towers were still being erected rather than being destroyed, when they spoke to America’s creative ingenuity rather than its collective mourning, and when one man — hailing from the same country that gifted the Statue of Liberty — proved that dreams are life’s sustenance, no matter how crazy.
That time was 1974 and that man was French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, whose covert high-wire walk between New York’s Twin Towers made headlines, inspired him to write the book “To Reach the Clouds” and was captured in James Marsh’s 4-star documentary “Man on Wire” (2008).
Now, we get a dramatic narrative treatment of Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who starts off as a petty mime and juggler in the streets of Paris, before falling for busker Annie (Charlotte Le Bon) and training to become a high-wire artist under the mentorship of circus icon Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley).
After learning the trade, he completes a walk across the bell towers of Notre Dame, before building up to his life’s mission: to walk between the towers of New York’s World Trade Center.
Perhaps only Zemeckis could have pulled off such a story, as “The Walk” takes us back in time like “Back to the Future” (1985), wows us with special effects like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), recreates historical moments like “Forrest Gump” (1994), explores the connection between isolation and innovation like “Cast Away” (2000) and charts celebrity heroism like “Flight” (2012).
Zemeckis reunites with his longtime composer, Alan Silvestri, while collaborating for the first time with cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, who’s become Ridley Scott’s go-to guy on “Prometheus” (2012), “The Counselor” (2013), “Exodus: Gods & Kings” (2014) and “The Martian” (2015). Both Silvestri and Wolski are fabulous picks to bring this story to life.
The casting is another story. From the get go, you’ll wish Zemeckis cast an actual French actor in the lead role. Can you imagine “The Artist” (2011) without Jean Dujardin? Instead, we get American-born Gordon-Levitt, who puts on his best French accent while shifting between a charmer and a madman. It’s a valiant effort for the rising star of “(500) Days of Summer” (2009), “Inception” (2010), “Looper” (2012) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), but as the film says, “the carrots are cooked.”
Even the soundtrack consists of French covers of popular American songs, rendering the Parisian scenes a bit false. The build-up to the big event drags at times, thanks to a contrived love story, an overreliance on narration and an over-the-top pothead sidekick you’ll want to punch in the face.
Still, it’s worth putting up with all of this in order to see the thrilling climax in all its 3D IMAX glory.
This giant set piece breaks down into three memorable slices.
First, we get the tower recon and covert invasion. This sequence offers all the suspense of the best heist or infiltration movies, turning Philippe Petit into Danny Ocean or Ethan Hunt.
Second, we get the rigging of the wire, which proves to be more complicated that one might think.
Finally, we get the walk itself, which is as artful as it is intense, as the clouds form a heavenly walkway across the sky and the creaking wire forces us to hold our breath and grip the armrests.
After the conflict is resolved, we’re treated to a beautifully understated resolution, as the final moments pay tribute to 9/11 without directly mentioning it. Archival footage would have been overkill. Instead, Zemeckis finds a more symbolic allusion that ends on just the right note.
“The Walk” won’t go down in history like “Man on Wire” — how can you possibly compete with the real thing? — but you’ll walk out of the theater believing you can actually achieve the impossible.
Like the very stunt it portrays, it doesn’t matter how much the film wobbles in the wind, strains its pulleys and creaks under its own weight, as long as it sticks the landing to a roar of applause.
The above rating is based on a 4-star scale. See where this film ranks in Jason’s Fraley Film Guide. Follow WTOP Film Critic Jason Fraley on Twitter @JFrayWTOP.
