As seen at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival:
To say that Man on Wire is unconventional in the way
that it crafts a crowd-pleasing tale around the now
tragedy-associated setting of the World Trade Center may be an
accurate description, but the statement also does a great
injustice to just how complex the movie is. Not once mentioning
the twin towers’ ultimate fates, director James Marsh and his
subjects craft a jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring tale with this
documentary about a man who decided to walk across a tightrope
hoisted about the buildings. That man was Philippe Petit, and he
still walks tightropes today despite promising to never again
pull an illegal stunt like the one he did in 1974 just as the
WTC facilities were beginning to open. Illegal or not, his story
is one for the ages.
Man on Wire excels on two
levels: that of a character-study and that of a heist picture.
The former is the most immediately noticeable; Marsh’s interview
footage with Petit simply and assuredly captures the man’s
personality in engrossing detail. Some viewers will likely
dismiss Petit as insane, but most will find him to be a bit
kooky but thoroughly admirable for his passion and enthusiasm
regarding an obscure hobby. In Petit—no matter how far off the
deep end he may be—most adventurous audience-members will find a
relatable sense of desire to understand the world from a
heightened, risky perspective. In this very discovery lies not
only a respect for the age-old ideal of living one’s life to the
fullest, but a sense fascination and sympathy for Petit. As
Petit recalls his infamous wire-walk, his genuine excitement for
accomplishing the unlikely seeps from the screen. He becomes an
impossible figure not to root for in the picture.
Because Marsh so swiftly allows us
the ability to cheer Petit on in his quest to walk across the
twin towers—he crafts a narrative out of Petit’s plan through
interviews with Petit’s co-conspirators, real footage captured
of Petit’s tightrope walking, and Touching the Void-style
recreations of the events—the movie becomes a full-fledged heist
picture. As Petit and company dodge preparatory technical
problems, WTC security guards, and other natural variables, the
experience takes on the values of an edge-of-your-seat
nail-biter despite the viewer’s prior knowledge that Petit did
indeed successfully accomplish his goal. Said knowledge doesn’t
make the moment that Petit crosses the towers any less
triumphant, either; captured on Super 8, the moment is one of
breathtaking beauty and unexpected humor (Petit’s defiance of
the NYPD is more than a little comical). If there is any justice
in the world of cinema, Man on Wire’s documentary-format
will not discourage any potential viewers. The movie is as
riveting and as poignant (if not more so) than most accomplished
Hollywood dramas.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 7.28.2008
Screened on: 6.22.2008 at the Landmark in West Los
Angeles, CA.