High-wire stunt proves sure-footed thrills
On general release including Bridlington Forum Robert Zemeckis, Oscarwinning director of Forrest Gump, dramatises Philippe Petit’s incredible walk along a wire strung between the two towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974.
Harnessing state-of-theart digital trickery, Zemeckis places us on that wire with the French daredevil and induces a palpable, stomach- churning sense of vertigo as Petit walks across the divide, more than 400 metres above the early morning bustle of Lower Manhattan.
Philippe (Joseph GordonLevitt) hones his circus skills on the streets of the French capital, where he meets his beautiful busker Annie (Charlotte Le Bon).
A newspaper article about the construction of the World Trade Center fires Philippe’s imagination and he concocts a hare-brained scheme to traverse the 140 feet of air between the two buildings.
Circus ringmaster Papa Rudy (Sir Ben Kingsley) helps Philippe to prepare for the physical rigours, despite serious misgivings about the perilous endeavour.
Philippe subsequently flies to the Big Apple with Annie, official photographer Jean-Louis (Clement Sibony) and Jean-Francois (Cesar Domboy), who is afraid of heights.
He tricks his way through customs by not being honest about the equipment he is carrying – and simply dons a hard hat to het on to the site.
As a thrilling, visceral spectacle, The Walk is on a sure footing.