Man on Wire | James Marsh, 2008
The first thing we are greeted with when embarking on James Marsh’s Oscar-nominated documentary Man on Wire is the enthusiasm of its subject, French wire-walker Philippe Petit. His broken English, wild hand gestures and frequently-disappearing eyebrows are somewhat infectious, and it is this wonderful personality that raises Man on Wire from a documentary about a single passion to something slightly more personal. The film takes this enthusiasm and uses it to excellent effect, quickly drawing us into what later becomes a stunning heist film with an almost voyeuristic approach. Petit is obviously the kind of character whose passion envelopes him: life, love and everything us mere mortals consider important is put on hold for him to complete his lifelong dream and tip-toe across a cable, 1350 feet above a bustling New York City. This, the culmination of his life’s work (at just 25 years-old, I should add) is a spectacle that the film builds up to, for much more time is spent detailing Petit’s curious passion, and how it affects those around him. We meet the various people that Petit’s life has crossed, from his earlier days as a budding magician on the streets of Paris right the way up to this final and most death-defying act.
Indeed, part of the charm that Man on Wire exhibits rests with the eloquence of all those involved. Everyone interviewed has a different angle to contribute which altogether helps to build up an excellent insight into the mind of the artist himself. Marsh presents these interviews and comments almost as though the subjects are referring to a person of great influence in their lives who has since passed on. The difference being that of course Monsieur Petit is still very much alive, fully animated and leading us step-by-step through his dream. We realise instead that the sadness found in the various interviews is in fact directed at a moment in life that has passed, that these people are looking back upon fondly and with awe. I watched a similarly-marketed documentary not long ago called The Bridge which focused on the high-rate of people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate. This documentary was let down by the lack of insight from all those involved, but Man on Wire certainly doesn’t fall at this hurdle. Unlike most people, not only is Petit unafraid of heights but he is also unafraid of doing what he must to achieve his life dream; therefore this common human fear of heights is used to represent a fear that is much bigger. With Petit the former fear is virtually nonexistent, whereas the latter, bigger fear is simply there to be conquered – and conquer it he does.
Our Rating:
