Overview

Up invites us into the life of Walter Griffin, a failed inventor obsessed with Philippe Petit's famed 1974 wire-walk between the twin World Trade Center towers. Walter's greatest moment of glory – a flight on a lawn chair festooned with helium balloons – is now long behind him, though Walter dreams of inventing something wonderful once more. His wife, Helen, has become disillusioned and frustrated at being the family's only breadwinner. Their teenage son, Mikey, harbors dreams of his own: after befriending Maria, a pregnant girl in his class, Mikey becomes involved in her family's phone sales business, with surprising results. When Walter finally takes a job, Mike keeps his a secret, and Helen allows herself to dream of a more secure life. But when Helen discovers the truth about Walter's employment, it becomes clear to this family that life itself is lived on a wire not unlike Petit's, this one strung between happiness and sadness.

Keywords

• Marriage
• Parenting/Family