Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Charlotte Le Bon, Ben KIngsley, James Badge Dale
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: 4/5
The Walk
We are huge fans of Joseph Gordon-Levitt here at FemaleFirst and he is back on the big screen this weekend with new film The Walk, which is already being tipped as a potential Oscar contender.
The Walk is based on the incredible true story of high-wire artist Philippe Petit and sees Gordon-Levitt team up with filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, as he returns to the director's chair for the first time since the success of Flight.
The Walk is the true story of a young dreamer, Philippe Petit, and a band of unlikely recruits who together achieve the impossible: an illegal wire walk in the immense void between the World Trade Centre towers.
With little more than nerve and blind ambition, Petit and his ragtag crew overcome daunting physical obstacles, betrayals, countless close calls and overwhelming odds to beat the system and execute their mad plan.
The Walk is a movie that I have been looking forward to all year and it is a film that really doesn't disappoint. Zemeckis has delivered a film that really will have you on the edge of your seat - the last half an hour or so is truly breath-taking.
For anyone who has seen the documentary Man On Wire, you will know how this movie goes and ends but that doesn't stop it from being a truly exhilarating ride.
The Walk is a movie with a very simple premise, Petit is a man who dreams of walking between the towers of the World Trade Centre. The first two thirds build up to the moment that we are all waiting for... his attempt to make it across. I promise you, that you heart will be in your mouth as Gordon-Levitt steps out on that wire.
It is this sequence that is the best moment in the movie and Zemeckis has backed it up with some truly stunning visuals... you really won't be able to take your eyes off the screen. It is a sequence in the movie that will totally transfix you and it is one of the best film moments of the year so far.
However, if you are a vertigo sufferer this could be one that is best to avoid - particularly on the big screen.
Gordon-Levitt may struggle with Petit's French accent throughout the film, but he really does capture the charisma and the determination of Petit. Petit is a man who is driven by this one dream, his whole life is consumed by it, and Gordon-Levitt really does capture the intensity of his desire to achieve this daring goal.
At the same time, Petit is an arrogant man that is quite difficult to like but it is down to Gordon-Levitt's great central performance that he keeps you on side and rooting for him.
Sadly, this is not a movie that delves deeply into the mind and psyche of Petit - which would have added another interesting layer to an already great story - but that doesn't stop The Walk from being a really interesting and tense watch.
The Walk is out now.
Tagged in Joseph Gordon-Levitt