Man on a Wire **

Directed by James Marsh.
Main protagonist - Phillippe Petit.
Released 2008.
Seen on DVD

I've been accused of only liking movies that the critics like, and for the most part, that's true. Though I trust some critics or publications more than others. Well this is a film that got critical acclaim (it even won an Oscar for best documentary), and I would have to disagree with the critics, though not entirely.

Basically it's about an infamous stunt Phillippe Petit pulled back in August of 1974. He broke into the fledgling World Trade Center, set up his equipment and walked a tight rope between the two towers. Some of us older people might actually remember the event.

I'll start with what I liked. The whole concept and the actual performance are quite intriguing - there's no denying that. It's set up like a caper movie. After all, they are trespassing on property and breaking the law. Everything has to be planned, practiced, organized and studied, before performing the stunt.

Another little subplot which becomes relevant for a small portion of the film is that after the big successful event, the small crew that were also close friend and lovers (they did bring on a couple of guys just for this caper to help out) become estranged from Petit. Apparently he gets a bit too big for his britches. He even sleeps with a woman while still being in a relationship with his girlfriend who was there through out the whole process. The celebrity had gotten to him. This is not explored very much which leaves the actual events of the estranging and feelings of the friends a bit ambiguous or unclear. Though I kind of like that because it makes the viewer have to contemplate what happened and why. There are some clues that something went wrong even before we learn about the affair. In a handful of interviews, his best friend breaks down and I'm thinking what in the world is wrong. Nobody dies or gets hurt (at least physically) so whats the big deal. Something for us to think about... or maybe the film makers needed to explore this idea more. Could go either way.

And some of the images of him were beautiful, like he was floating in air.

Now as for my complaints of the film, it was way too slow. I tried showing this film to my eight year old daughter and she had trouble staying focused on the film. Not that the attention span of an 8 year old girl is a proper test for determining what a good pace for a film should be, but I found myself restless, and I consider myself a very patient film watcher. Even the "caper" part of the film though it was interesting, was just too slow. In a fiction caper or heist film, they don't seem to drag on for so long. There's more dramatic urgency and tension. This film seemed to lack that urgency and tension, though they tried. I think that they were simply unsuccessful at creating it.

I also found Petit to be kind of grating. I mean it's logical since he is basically a street performer who specializes in high wire walking. Think of the old saying or idea that when people see a mime, they want want to slug them because they are so annoying. Petit certainly is smug and cocky. He's arrogant. He really thinks way too much of himself, even before he did the World Trade Center.

I'd be curious to see the documentaries that this film beat at the Oscars.

Here's a trailer.



And here's an interview with the man.