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Man on Wire (2007)

Director: James Marsh

Time Out rating

Average user rating

11 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

It all started in a dentist’s waiting room in France, with a magazine feature on a New York construction whose twin towers would absolutely dwarf the Eiffel Tower. The teenage Philippe Petit was so entranced, he ripped the article out and stuck it up his jumper. He dreamed right then of walking on a wire between what would become the two towers of the World Trade Center, and, in 1974, he actually did it.

Just how this act of graceful insanity came to pass is chronicled in Marsh’s captivating documentary, which intercuts the build-up and execution of the walk itself with Petit’s remarkable backstory. This was no spur-of-the-moment fluke, but the result of years of globe-trotting preparation with a support group of like-minded individuals, each of whom pop up in interviews to express awe-struck concern for their fearless leader. Petit himself twinkles here too, exuding such voluble Gallic esprit that he could hold us in his spell for 90 minutes on his own.

Not that seeing the man himself detracts from the palm-slicking suspense the film develops as the mission hits almost surreal snags even before the soon-to-be-famous funambulist steps out on to the thinnest thread. Nor, indeed, does the absence of surviving locations knock Marsh off his stride as he contrives sequences of playful dramatic fakery to sustain the tension. Although some viewers may find the too-familiar Michael Nyman cues and over-used Erik Satie pianism a disappointingly earthbound musical accompaniment, for the most part there’s storytelling magic here which makes the film so much bigger than just some expert BBC-funded reconstruction. There’s no mention of the building’s subsequent fate; instead, a generous, visionary gesture supplanting the communal memory of the site’s unspeakable horrors with an image of human achievement that’s head-spinning, heart-leaping in its absurd purity.

Author: Trevor Johnston 2008-07-29 12:23:21

Time Out London Issue 1980, July 31 - August 6, 2008

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User reviews of this film

PERFECT DAY said...

Posted on Sep 11 2008 15:26 ha ha ha. your hissy fits are sooo funny, Usman. Priceless.

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Sep 11 2008 14:44 i also found the narrative technique copied from la vie en rose so pseudi-intellectually amusing as if edith piaf and this pathetic man are in the same league -the movie is a big boring mess and barely even a one time watch for all thr attention that media is giving it -despite that the box office returns do speak for themselves

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PERFECT DAY said...

Posted on Sep 11 2008 14:29 Usman - your obvious references to 911 and pontificating on the subject is tantamount to using a mallot to kill a snail. I say to all readers, don't let this boring little man put you off seeing this little gem of a film.

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Sep 11 2008 14:17 MAN WITH AN ACCENT WITH NO MORALS-the american pre-occupation with europeans with an accent is duly famed and here a frenchman takes advantage of that to defy all laws and moral responsibilities to his friends ,family and a foreign country in a sucessful antic which could have easily turned into a disaster.
They say nothing suceeds like sucess and that in this case is paramount but what about the security men he hoodwinked to achieve his goal which he himself compares to a bank robbery in broad daylight .
It would be interesting to know how the port authority dealt with them ,there is obviously a perverted sense of excitement about this maneouvre as it comes under the heading of forbidden fruit and also human mind likes to glorify acts of sheer irresponsibilty and recklessness as heroics ,but the moral dilemmas are never examined in the movie as it could have been interesting to know whether they had an alternative plan to fallback and when he is asked that cruial question WHY, he refuses to answer that even today as if like an ostrich burying his head in the sand ,
The movie itself is rather distasteful as it stretches itself to 90 minutes when they have about 10 snapshots of the real event and no movie footage at all ,which makes you wonder why even no tv crews from new york's infernal tv channels filmed this event,
that just makes you realise how silly this episode is and it is rather mortifying to see the twin towers in a movie where the issues of security are torn to shreds .
I found it dull and rather distasteful like a public orgy with no sense of shame at all .
usman khawaja

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Paquita said...

Posted on Sep 11 2008 12:09 There is nothing wrong with the repetition of Erik Satie music. It fitted the film perfectly. In fact the only thing which really bothered me was the fact that they were not enough moments in the film where music was playing on its own with nobody's comments. Some more minutes of this incredible individual performing on a rope with only music would have been divine.

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boyo said...

Posted on Sep 04 2008 09:08 good docu, but i didnt find the narrative or the way it built up to the event that satisfying, seemed a bit jumpy upto the point when it started on his background and the prep for the WTC tightrope act. and even then i would have liked to have learnt a bit more about his background. overall though the music was what almost ruined this for me - far too somber in the beginning, not really the right tone, and then just far far too much of it. was quite intrusive at times, as though they thought the events on their own couldnt convey the emotion. also, the flashbacks with the actor werent that good. for a bbc funded/involved doc, i expected a little better. great story though. and the archive footage was amazing. just a bit more earnest than i thought it would/should be.

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summacumlaude said...

Posted on Aug 22 2008 22:59 I would wish for more people with the attitude of this small band of modern day artists. We are bound by a multitude of petty rules in western societies, and more of us should question them.

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q said...

Posted on Aug 10 2008 00:36 "voluble Gallic esprit" Did you have to perpetuate these stupid cliches and the xenophobia they convey?

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Zettel said...

Posted on Aug 07 2008 13:08 Descartes meets Camus in the sky above New York
Perhaps absurdity defines us best as human beings. When 23 year-old Frenchman Philippe Petit, shortly after a misty dawn on August 7th 1974 stepped out onto an illegally stretched 60 metre cable 1368 feet above a largely unwitting New York, he was doing something that no other creature, man nor beast could, nor would do.For Albert Camus, Man is absurd for still expecting good, believing there is value in the world, when all the verifiable facts tell us otherwise. Well for just under an hour 32 years ago high above New York, one of Camus’ compatriots became absurd man incarnate and showed us unequivocally that there is something beautiful and valuable, and profoundly human about doing something immensely difficult, highly dangerous, terrifying, and utterly pointless - just for its own sake.

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Papillon said...

Posted on Aug 05 2008 19:06 A truly inspirational tale that is together funny, exciting and very, very touching.
It is also a very "human" story which explores notions of courage, friendship and love.
A must-see.

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Boysie said...

Posted on Aug 01 2008 20:41 An extraordinary tale told in such a simplistic and charming way engages the audience thoroughly. It is thrilling, humourous and whacky. It deserves to be seen.

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