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The Wrestler
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Mickey Rourke
Genre:
Drama/Romance/
Independent
Run Time: 115
min.
Release Date:
December 2008
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Known more for his visual
appeal along with intriguing stories, director/writer/producer Darren
Aronofsky shows a different, and perhaps better, side of his mastery in
storytelling.
I first became aware of Aronofsky after seeing his impressive REQUIEM
FOR A DREAM back in 2000. Engulfed in that film’s unique visual
telling, I moved on six years later to see
THE FOUNTAIN.
Extraordinary in just about every way, especially the special effects
and how he integrated them into the plot, I then went out and tried to
find everything I could by this unique man. What I found was very
little. A few minor productions prior to 2000, Aronofsky is an enigma;
he’s not out there making a movie every eight months like some
directors.
So when I heard praise being heaped upon THE WRESTLER, it was
with great surprise that I found out Aronofsky was both producer and
director. I wasn’t surprised because it was him, but because the story
just didn’t sound like something he’d do. I mean, where’s the visual
appeal in the story of a washed-up pro wrestler? Time for me to eat some
crow...
The visual appeal isn’t there but doesn’t need to be. This is a myopic
view that focuses its entire lens on that of one man, and does it so
powerfully, with such an amazing story, that fans of such things as
ROCKY, RAGING BULL and BRIAN’S SONG would be proud to
rank it among their favorite sports-related films of all time; it’s in
my top five.
Much of the excitement has been directed at returning film star Mickey
Rourke. Returning, you ask? Where had he been? Strangely appropriate,
Rourke had taken a hiatus from acting and returned to one of his earlier
loves: boxing. From 1991 to 1995, Rourke had become a professional boxer
and won a string of matches. But he also received some crushing facial
injuries that required reconstructive surgery. These injuries are still
noticeable in The Wrestler, but they also give the filming of
Rourke’s face a unique appeal since we’re talking about that of a
spiraling down wrestler who’s failing body can’t keep up.
Wearing hearing aids, reading glasses, and having to work at a
supermarket in order to make ends meet, Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson (Rourke)
is discovering what lay ahead for him, a previously successful wrestler
with a fan following that’s dying off ...kind of like himself.
Beside ‘The Ram’ is a stripper who’s also on her downward swing. Getting
older and nudged aside by younger, prettier strippers, Cassidy (Marissa
Tomei, WILD HOGS)
spurns The Ram’s romantic advances. She still feels like she’s got some
stripper time left in her, even though the clientele where she works
seems to say different. The power with which Tomei pulls her battered,
sex-object body around only to learn that she needs something more than
a pole to dance around is incredible to watch. But can Cassidy learn
that The Ram’s love for her is something she needs before it’s too late?
This is where the crux of the story really pulls the viewer in and holds
us to the very, very end.
The side story of The Ram’s estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel
Wood, ACROSS
THE UNIVERSE) also adds a very human quality to the main
character, and gives us more of the in-depth character analysis so many
films lack. It also reinforced The Ram’s loneliness in a world where
aging sports figures learn of their early mistakes, and that trying to
make amends often results in old habits cropping up and destroying any
such possibilities.
Finally, I have to mention the gritty film style that Aronofsky chose
for The Wrestler. Hand held camera’s and grainy looking film
stock all added to a years-gone-by feel that was very appropriate. It
also saved a ton of cash. In fact, The Wrestler cost only $7
million to make but has, apparently, made over $70 million as of this
writing. The shocking fact for me is not that it’s made back ten times
what it cost to make, but that Aronofsky did it without any significant
special effects like he used in The Fountain (cost = $35 million
to make), proving that this director has the potential to make just
about any film, under any circumstances, with minimal expenditures.
Although this information may not be terribly interesting to
movie-goers, I find this extremely admirable considering the
multi-gazillion dollar films that get greenlit and then flop at the box
office.
Aronofsky is the man. And he’s got a resume to be proud of, too. And
The Wrestler should rank high on his list. It should rank high on
yours, too. See it for Rourke’s performance. Enjoy it because Aronofsky
did a fabulous job.
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Image from The Wrestler
DVD cost: $28.73
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite?
Yes.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Only two days after its
completion "The Wrestler" was screened on Venice Film Festival and
walked off with the Golden Lion award for Best Picture. Mickey Rourke
also would have walked off as Best Actor if the Venice jury chairman,
director Wim Wenders, had had his way but Wenders' vigorous campaigning
could not topple a longstanding festival rule which insists that one
film is not allowed to win both awards. Rourke happily contented himself
with finally being the star of a prize-winning picture.
Movie Quote: "I
don't hear as good as I used to, and I ain't as pretty as I used to be.
But I'm still here. I'm the Ram."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Wrestler
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