"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 Aug. 7, 1974. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, and Steve Valentine.
"The Walk" is not just an inspirational tale, but also a visual treat that gives us a glimpse into the brainpower, technique, and enthusiasm of Petit. Zemeckis traverse you right into the historic feat. The gripping film is based on the book "To Reach The Clouds" by Petit.
"The Walk" begins in France, with the young Petit exploring an aptitude for keeping his balance. As a child, Petit has been fixated with the circus and is an admirer of Papa Rudy and his sons who perform the highest wire walking feats.
Determined to learn from the Rudy himself, Philippe approaches him. While training with Rudy he sees a newspaper report publicizing the construction of the World Trade Center, and decides that an adventure that high up would make him famous.
In the meanwhile he continues to perform on the streets and meets Anne, a singer and musician and they soon fall in love with her. Anne encourages Petit to embody his dream to become a famous wire walker.
On one date, Petit confesses his biggest dream of walking in between New York's twin towers, the highest buildings in the world to Anne. After finishing his initial training with Rudy, his attempts first wire walk over a lake party. Unfortunately, he falls off the wire. Jean-Louis captured his fall on his camera and soon befriends Petit. Louis later becomes his assistant for the New York feat.
Mortified by the lake incident, Petit decides to illegally attach a wire between the two buildings of Notre Dame and decides to walk on it at sunrise, once the people start to arrive. This feat of Petit is liked by the audience. As his act was illegal, the cops arrest him.
Petit soon becomes well-known and decides it is time for his New York feat. Anne, Petit and Louis move to New York. Will Petit be able to carve a niche for himself in the world by walking on a wire in between the Twin Towers is what the story further leads to.
The Walk has received positive reviews from critics. Ben Kingsley and Gordon-Levitt delivered great performances. Zemeckis's direction and the mind-blowing visual effects are a must watch.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 87%, based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The film was released by TriStar Pictures on Sept. 30, 2015, in the USA in IMAX 3D, and on Oct. 9 in regular 2D and 3D.