Review: Man on Wire (2008)
Jerry Saravia
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Four stars
I used to live in New York City and was always petrified of the World
Trade Center. I had walked through the lobby once but I never ascended
to any of the 110 floors of these former capitalist towers. It had a
lot to do with my fear of heights, I imagine, so I approached this
documentary, "Man on Wire," with a certain trepidation knowing it is
about a man who walked on a wire suspended across the two towers. I
had nothing to fear because "Man on Wire" is an exceptionally
thrilling and wondrous documentary - a tale told with such vigor and
with such breathless beauty, you'll be speechless for days, even
months.
Philippe Petit is the famous French wire walker who managed to do
something that no one has ever attempted, no less surpassed. On a
slightly windy, cloudy day on August 7, 1974, Petit and a few people
on his crew suspended a wire across the Two Towers so that Petit could
walk across. Apparently, this was an early dream that took place in a
dentist's office where he saw a magazine article on the future
construction of these towering giants. All Petit knew was that he had
to walk across them, like floating on air. Petit was already walking
on wires suspended across the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Sydney
Harbor Bridge and made a name for himself but the WTC is an
incomparable and seemingly improbable stunt.
James Marsh's "Man on Wire" shows the dedication of its high-wire act
and participant Petit, as he breaks down all the nooks and crannies of
this stunt. How will they get into the WTC? What sort of disguises
will they wear, and how do they acquire proper fake ID's? Most
importantly, how in creation will they suspend this wire across these
two towers that are diagonally parallel to each other? (A fact I had
almost forgotten).
The movie is full of black-and-white footage that looks like it was
cribbed from a 1970's heist movie - of course, it isn't but director
Marsh does a stellar job of blending fake footage with real color
footage shot by Petit and his then-girlfriend. As for the heist
connection, the movie operates on the level of a high-stakes heist
thriller though nothing is actually being stolen. Instead, something
is being given - a gift for New Yorkers of someone literally walking
in the clouds.
"Man on Wire" is not a normal documentary - it almost transcends the
form. It is told with such panache that it seems more like a thriller,
particularly in its detailing of the ins and outs of this grand
wirewalking event. It also conveys the spirited mood and ambition of a
young man eager to perform something so awe-inspiring, individualistic
and so dangerous, it could only be done once. Some viewers have
complained about Petit having a fling with some anonymous, adoring
female fan while committed to his former girlfriend. That hardly
matters in my mind because he was exalted by someone and took
advantage. Philippe Petit was the rock star of the heavens.
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