NYFF 53 REVIEW: THE WALK

BY CHRISENA RICCI

I don't like heights. I remember one time I went to my best friend's rock climbing birthday party in elementary school. I climbed all the way to the top of one of the walls I deemed suitable, and then, after a quick glance over my shoulder, I proceeded to stand there at the top of the wall for about 30 minutes. Sweating, shaking and reasoning with myself.

Needless to say, even looking at the poster for THE WALK gave me mixed feelings of vertigo and reminiscent dread. Robert Zemeckis's opus follows the true story of Phillippe Petit, the Parisian young man who walked on his high-wire between the twin towers in 1974. Somehow, the promise of an after screening talk-back with Joseph Gordon-Levitt brought me to the fifth row of an IMAX theatre with 3D glasses looped around my ears and no hope for escape. It's funny what a girl will do for a celebrity crush.

The movie starts out with said celebrity crush, Joseph Gordon Levitt directly addressing the audience in a monologue about his love for circus arts. Immediately I found myself wondering if his wig would ever start to look believable and if his accent would mellow with time. Both seem a bit over-the-top initially, but as time passes, both seem to adjust suitably.

It doesn't hurt that Gordon-Levitt frequently alternates between French and English. Thank God! A film about French people who move to America that isn't entirely in English or French. It is the perfect balancing act.

Ok. Pun intended.

While the acting is all well done, with stand-out performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ben Schwartz (who plays Phillippe’s loyal cohort), what really makes this film incredible is the 3D aspect. Robert Zemeckis uses this added element to almost punish the audience. He forces you to do the one thing you are told never to do, look down. It's equal parts nerve wracking and thrillingly beautiful. Once again Zemeckis walks the line between a suspenseful horror film and a zippy heist film from the 70's. (There I go again with the puns). This film, is a must see. It is poignant. It is full of dreams and hope and determination with all of the whimsy of a circus act. Though the wig may have been a bit unbelievable and the accents a bit contrived at times, it is a heartwarming and entertaining film based a real person who achieved a very real, very large and very terrifying goal.

CHRISENA'S VERDICT: MUST SEE

WRITTEN BY Robert Zemeckis and Christpoher Browne BASED ON THE NOVEL TO REACH THE CLOUDS BY Philippe Petit DIRECTED BY Robert Zemeckis STARRING Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon, Guillaume Baillargeon, Ben Schwartz

Playing as part of the 2015 53rd Annual New York Film Festival. For tickets and information: http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2015/

CHRISENA RICCI once went to a costume party dressed in an all black dress and black wig. No one there could guess who she was. So she shouted out, "I'm Christina Ricci, without the T or I and add an E!" Everyone stood there confused, she was annoyed, so she stormed off. She never returned to that apartment ever again. Which is fine, because she later realized she was at the wrong party. She now lives in New York City.