Man on a Wire

Today we watched a free screening of Man On A Wire. This movie, although it was a documentary captured the feeling of a heist narrative. Some parts of the movie were a little cheesy, such as the introduction shots of the individuals involved in setting up the wire where they moved a light over their faces for dramatic effect.

I was surprised they had so much old footage from him walking on the wire. I was wondering whether or not it was old footage or if it was footage that he had recreated. From what I could tell later on within the movie it was not a re-enactment. It was very insightful on their parts considering they didn’t even know if they would be famous; the recording of their plans could have been used against them. It was as if they had known that this documentary was going to be made later down the line.

This movie’s structure was very well organized; the tension was built up very well, and the moments that were re-enactments still somehow involved the viewer, so you felt like you were there right along side of Philippe Petit. At the culmination of his finally walking across the twin towers, the movie doesn’t just fade away, there is such an expression of beauty as the shots of him on the wire and the viewers below are placed together.

The only thing that might have let me down within the movie was the ending. I was sad that he didn’t end up with the girl he had originally started with and that it didn’t end with just the walk. It faded away right at the very end when it just seemed incomplete. But I suppose life doesn’t have its perfect endings.