Remembering the year 2008

MAN ON WIRE
Directed by James Marsh


2008 was the year I started being published as a film critic. I suppose one could argue that I was published prior to this as I was self-published right here on Black Sheep but there is something about being published in print that validated my journey as a developing film critic. My destiny was unfolding before my eyes. Not everyone believes in destiny but those who do probably see how the seemingly disconnected pieces of their lives come together to bring them to the exact moment where they stand. Perhaps their destiny is a job; perhaps it is love. Whatever it is, it is pretty safe to say that there aren’t too many people out there that believe that their destiny is to walk a tight rope between New York City’s infamous World Trade Center towers. It was one man’s destiny though, one that was filled in 1974 and one that is magnificently chronicled in James Marsh’s Academy Award winning documentary, MAN ON WIRE.


Your first instinct might be to assume that the man who pulled off this incredible feat must be completely insane. After seeing MAN ON WIRE, you might not think any differently of Philippe Petit. By cutting together rare archival footage of Petit and his gang preparing for the big event with still photographs, news footage and modern interviews with all of Petit’s cohorts, Marsh is able to paint a picture of how Petit got from point A to point B, or from the North Tower to the South Tower, if you will. The incredible, almost cosmic, momentum pushing Petit forward though comes directly from Petit’s mouth. The man is ridiculously animated and alive, not surprisingly. I might be too if I walked a wire 1350 feet off the ground. He never answers that inevitable question as to why he did what he did (which also included wire-walking across the steeples of the Notre Dame Basilica in Paris and the two north pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia) but simply asserts that he was meant to. When you see him on the rope, you know he is right.


As it is described a number of times in the film, to watch Petit walk across the wires is like a little bit of magic in an otherwise dull day. As these activities all took place over thirty years ago, there isn’t a vast collection of footage to pull from to recreate them. Reenactments are not exactly new to documentaries but the style with which Marsh attributes them here is certainly not something I’m accustomed to. Sumptuous black and white footage of what certainly could not have been captured as it happened is not only strikingly gorgeous but also fully engaging. Paul McGill plays Petit as a young man and, alongside a cast of 1970’s French artist/anarchist types, he helps to set the heist tone for the film that Marsh uses as a framework to heighten the suspense. History affirms that they are able to pull off their caper but placing us in the middle of the action helps us to feel like even we can have dreams as impossible as this one.


At no point in time in MAN ON WIRE is there any mention or image of the towers coming down. Instead, Marsh treats us to archival footage of their construction. Yes, their construction in the context of this particular story is to show them as mere devices in Petit’s personal journey but there is something exalting in watching these great structures coming into their own when most only have the image of their destruction in their minds to remember them. Marsh himself has asserted that he hoped his film would give the viewers a new image to remember the towers by – one of artistry and magic as Petit walked back and forth between them eight times in the middle of the air on what was otherwise an ordinary day.



BLACK SHEEP'S 2008 TOP 10
(in alphabetical order ... click any title for full review)

THE DARK KNIGHT, Christopher Nolan (Director)
THE DUCHESS, Saul Dibb
ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS), Laurent Cantet
MAN ON WIRE, James Marsh
MILK, Gus Van Sant
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, Jonathan Demme
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Sam Mendes
THE VISITOR, Tom McCarthy
WALL-E, Andrew Stanton
THE WRESTLER, Darren Aronofsky

Black Sheep's Top 10 of 2008

I will always remember 2008 as the year I stopped sleeping. Oddly enough, from day one, I developed some very erratic but very effective insomnia. I am still dealing with it to this day but I can feel it falling away with every passing night. Many people offered advice – warm milk, booze before bed, meditation. My favorite trick though was to lie still and think back on the day that had just ended. I would lie there and stare up at the ceiling and recall all the blessings, no matter how small, that I had been fortunate enough to encounter throughout my day. And so, as 2008 enters its final hours, I would like to lie back on my pillow and remember 10 of the best film experiences I had this last year. When I’m done, I will say goodnight.

In alphabetical order, here is Black Sheep’s Top 10 of 2008 …

THE DARK KNIGHT

If you’re going to be big, you have to think big from the start. Director Christopher Nolan did just that with his second Batman picture. It is grand to behold and exhilarating to experience. Aside from laying claim to Heath Ledger’s unforgettable last performance, THE DARK KNIGHT can also assert itself as the most accomplished superhero movie of all time.

THE DUCHESS

Saul Dibb’s little seen film may have been dismissed as just another period piece where a woman is sold off by her family for financial gain and stature but I assure you there is so much more to see here. The Duchess of Devonshire endured many a hardship behind her castle walls and Dibb, along with the lovely Keira Knightly, strip the period drama of its binding costume to show the naked person barely breathing underneath.

ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS)

Director, Laurent Cantet, along with screenwriter and star, Francois Bégaudeau, invite us to take our seats in this year’s winner of the Palmes d’Or at Cannes. Shot like a documentary, THE CLASS is an important lesson about the state of today’s classroom. Sure, we all know the situation isn’t great but Bégaudeau wants us to feel the reality of what it means to have a seat at the back of the class. Pay attention because the test will follow immediately after.

MAN ON WIRE

In 1974, Philippe Petit crossed New York’s twin towers across a tight rope eight times. Documentary filmmaker, James Marsh, was not there to capture it. And so a new style of documentary is born where all the players from back in the day are on board to tell their stories while actors reenact the events of 34 years ago. Pieced together as though it were a narrative piece, the story itself is a caper that will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat as though it were one of the towers.

MILK

This is Gus Van Sant’s masterpiece. It is a soft and tender piece about bravery and strength, that had me enraged one moment, laughing the next and crying practically throughout. Harvey Milk fought for the simple human rights of gay men and women in California as the first openly gay man to be elected to public office and he was killed for this. Telling his story today is heartbreaking as gay men and women are still fighting for these same rights some 30 years later.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

When I first saw this movie, I left the theatre and felt entirely disoriented. Rachel had just gotten married and I felt as though I were a guest at this event. The weekend was tumultuous but gorgeous and filled with deep love and all the hardship that comes with this kind of intimacy. The entire cast is so genuine that you feel as though they have known each other for as long as they would have had they been real. This is a true testament to Jenny Lumet’s subtle screenplay and Jonathan Demme’s beautifully spontaneous direction.

THE READER

Stephen Daldry is a very sumptuous filmmaker. He tells his stories with conviction and without apology for their nature. THE READER is a complicated, multi-layered work that may have missed its mark in someone else’s hand. Daldry forces us to face this tale of passion, betrayal and healing and asks us to go through our own personal interaction with these emotions. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes are there to hold our hands along the way.

THE VISITOR

Simple, understated and effective are just a few words that can be thrown at Thomas McCarthy’s second film and Richard Jenkins’ breakout performance. This unique story about a widower who walks around his own life as though it weren’t his own unspools in such an unexpected fashion that one feels like visiting again and again.

WALL•E

It only takes about four minutes to fall completely in love with WALL•E. No matter how many times I’ve seen this film (and I assure you, I’ve seen it a few times already), I am always in awe of what Pixar was able to accomplish. Not only did they manage to put out an eco-friendly film that criticizes humanity’s disposable habits and our growing reliance on conglomerate control but they also crafted one of the most endearing love stories in recent history. To create a genuine love between genderless, animated robots is what places Pixar out of this world compared with all their imitators.

THE WRESTLER

Darren Aronofsky should feel very good about this one. THE WRESTLER is not just his best film but it is also the best American film of the year. Like P.T. Anderson did last year with THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Aronofsky has reinvented himself as an American storyteller who understands its people and their convictions. It is a dirty, gritty experience that mirrors the hardships of so many and it never stops fighting.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to get all the details on Black Sheep's Best of 2008 contest. Happy New Year!

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Pineapples and Pants

I thought for sure this would be the week. It was pretty amazing last weekend when a franchise as big as THE MUMMY 3 couldn’t beat it but you’ve got to fall sometime. With two brand new, anticipated films debuting in wide release, I figured THE DARK KNIGHT was a goner but I was mistaken. Despite grossing ahead of the bat on Friday, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS was unable to keep its hold throughout the weekend, allowing THE DARK KNIGHT to pull in another $26 million and remain the king of the box office for a fourth weekend in a row.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS debuted Wednesday to the biggest August Wednesday opening of all time. This might sound impressive but really, we’re talking about $12 million here. THE DARK KNIGHT made $18 million in its first Wednesday, five days after its initial release. Still, it isn’t fair to compare any film to THE DARK KNIGHT. In total, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS has earned just over $40 million in five days. Compared to past Apatow productions, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS has earned more in five days than all but SUPERBAD, including the $200+ million grossing KNOCKED UP and this year’s FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. This proves it; audiences love schleppy guys who sit around talking smack. When will the Apatow tide turn?


This week’s other major release is the sequel, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2. Now I am not a teenage girl so this movie has zero appeal for me but though the girls didn’t come out in HANNAH MONTANA numbers, the film still built on its predecessor. The film is tracking about $4 million ahead of the last film’s 5-day take and will likely top out at about $50 million if all holds well. Given the first film’s modest take and the equally modest take of the sequel, I’m still not sure why these pants are seeing more of the world than I am.

There are two films outside the Top 10 that pulled in higher averages than any film in the Top 10. The first is the Ben Kingsley/Penelope Cruz spring/fall romance, ELEGY Debuting on six screens, the film pulled in a per screen average of $17K. The second is the Patti Smith documentary, DREAM OF LIFE. The film is playing on just one little screen and pulled in over $8K on average. I guess Patti would appreciate the smaller platform. Also making an impression on people’s taste buds is the winemaking ensemble piece, BOTTLE SHOCK. Bowing on 48 screens and featuring a cast as diverse as Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman, the film pulled in over $6K per screen and will be expanding its tasting next week.


Meanwhile, on the expansion front, a couple of promising possibilities seem to be stalling. While both BRIDESHEAD REVISITED and AMERICAN TEEN saw their grosses blow up over 200% last week, this week, they each saw declines as they continued to expand. Then there’s MAN ON WIRE. This documentary about tightrope walker, Philippe Petit, is treading very slowly across its own wire, expanding by 55 screens this week and subsequently posting an increase of over 450%. Distributor Magnolia best not get too aggressive; it’s a long way to fall.

NEXT WEEK: TROPIC THUNDER, the APOCALYPSE NOW style, comedic spoof starring and directed by Ben Stiller looks like it will finally take down the bat as it opens early on Wednesday. Keifer Sutherland is back in theatres in the horror, MIRRORS. George Lucas continues to squeeze every last drop of Star Wars gold with the animated CLONE WARS. More importantly though, Woody Allen is back with VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA. Let’s see if great buzz and a much talked about kiss between Penelope Cruz and Scarlet Johansson can help it beat the big guys despite opening on a fraction of the screens.

Source: Box Office Mojo