Man on Wire is a documentary of a man who could either be called brave or obscenely stupid, depending on your perspective; this man walked on a wire between the Twin Towers. Man on Wire is a beautiful movie about a repulsive personality.
French tight rope walker Philippe Petit sees the building of the twin towers as a challenge. A challenge of his abilities, a challenge of the loyalties of those around him and a challenge of his own will. Unconcerned with anyone but himself, Philippe Petit chugs along, trying to make his way up the towers and across them. In smaller acts of defiance, he walked across several important structures all over the world. His behavior captured the attention of the people who saw them and damaged the relationships with those people he involved in his schemes.
Man on Wire’s cinematography glistens. There are times during Man on Wire that took me out of the moment because of its beauty. The director, James Marsh, and cinematographer, Igor Martinovich, use several different styles of shooting to create different moods. When they are discussing how they actually performed the Twin Towers walk, the scenes are shot in black and white. Those scenes reminded me of old robbery movies in look and feel.
Casting person Adine Duron did a fantastic job of casting two actors who look so close to the actual people Man on Wire represented. There are several scenes that take place in the past that aren’t of the actual heist, and those scenes are masterfully shot to look the way footage of the time would’ve looked. Grainy and shot in 1970’s style cinematography, I was totally fooled. I didn’t know it wasn’t actual footage from the time until I read the press notes.
Each person involved in the wire walk was interviewed separately and given playful titles such as “The Australian” and “The Accomplice.” The interviews go from sad to silly. There are men with silly mustaches, hearts on the sleeves of many people and great affection. Many of the people recall the events with a deep bitter sweet quality, except Philippe Petit; it was all sweet to him.
It seems the only people in his life were those willing to be focused on Philippe Petit’s dream; willing to take the risk of crime with him or to follow his wishes explicitly. His girlfriend at the time, Annie Allix, said she felt her dreams were unimportant to him, that only his mattered. Even the way Petit recounts his story in Man on Wire is wildly self-absorbed.
As many well made documentaries do, Man on Wire left me asking questions. Is Philippe Petit a great adventurer, a pusher of limits and an admirable personality because he did what no one else would do? Were the people who followed him across from Europe to commit this crime mindless morons or were they loyal supporters who thought they were part of something great? Was this act of walking between Twin Towers an act of greatness? Was Annie Allix a weakling? Is Philippe Petit a person we should admire or someone deserving of the numerous eyerolls I gave him? If he died during the stunt, would I languish in the sorrow of the passing of such a maverick or would I have suggested him for a Darwin Award?
If Philippe Petit were killed during this stunt and I witnessed it, I would feel only a welling of laughter only held back by good manners. After I got home and allowed myself a hearty, gut busting laughter, I’d head directly to my computer and visit www.darwinawards.com for my suggested award winner.
I appreciate the craftsmanship of Man on Wire but don’t feel nourished having actually seen Petit’s account himself. Man on Wire is a well made, visually marvelous movie about a man who doesn’t deserve such attention. If I have to hear Petit talk anymore, I might throw myself off The Sears Tower.