I’m not sure what the necessary criteria are for a documentary to get a cinematic release – the Discovery Channel and the BBC, the production houses behind ‘Man on Wire’ can surely lay claim to consistently rich and varied output when it comes to documenting the earths wonders, historic events and the achievements of man and creature. Certainly I can imagine on being presented with so cinematic a piece of work, with the already dramatic real life events being relayed with such careful timing and structure to add even more pace you could only consider the big screen as a suitable outlet for ‘Man on Wire’. The documentary is of the classic structure of face to camera interviews, stills, re – enactments and archive footage. The collage of mediums are expertly woven together to deliver a story that relays the essential elements of the stunt, and somehow subtley plants seeds of discussion for you to delve into after leaving the cinema.

The premise is simplicity itself – 1974, a French man, Phillip Petit, walks from the roof of the south tower of the World Trade centre to the north tower on a tight rope.  Whatever the sequence of events, we know at the very least that the daredevil survived – where the documentary succeeds is in instilling an almost unbearable sense of tension and nerve, even in showing to us stills of an event that wasn’t filmed and stock shots of buildings photographed countless times. Petit and his friends recount their attempts, re- enactments act as a suitable visual aid, evoking the era well, though apart from the need for two spiralling sky scrapers, there is a timelessness to the story of a man, of strong character and his determination to surmount a near impossible task. For the first time in a long time, I went into a movie knowing next to little about what to expect – as simple as its premise was, so too the string of events encompassed within the running time were tied almost exclusively to the motivation behind and events of the wire walk. The dynamic of the group of people supporting Petit is explored minimally, the most interesting light shone on their relationships in the aftermath of the stunt. The central player, Petit recounts his achievement with relentless energy, still carrying the same motivation that drove him to tackle the feat. He is an intriguing character, my first question for my company after the movie and my housemate who had seen the movie last week, was what they thought of this unique character.

All this combines to create a dramatic piece of work, I felt my chest tighten at the prospect of what they were going to attempt, the aerial shots, black and white pictures of Petit silhouetted against the New York sky line, the clear anxiety the individuals feel even in retelling the progression of events 40 years later, gripped me to the story and brought back the anxiety I’ve felt on heights and while doing bungee jumps a few years ago. Such an induction into the world of the documentary and how it beared down on my own emotions is the greatest test a piece of art can accomplish in my view. A documentary, a movie I hasten to recommend as I’m fascinated to see what people take from the story and its characters.

A fascinating story, given extra quality being so well made. Absolutely the type of movie you should venture to for an escape from the norm, invest yourself in and pore over afterwards.