The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; a once great athlete, now down on his luck and ostracized by his family members, has the chance to get back in the spotlight, redeem himself, and reclaim his former glory.

While it seems contrived to a fault on the surface, The Wrestler is a deeply emotional film that effectively takes this (very) familiar formula and adds some much needed variety to the mix.

In what is a truly galvanizing performance, Mickey Rourke plays Randy the Ram, a professional wrestler who once was one of the top stars of the sport. Twenty years later, he is now relegated to performing at small, dingy community centers to infinitely smaller crowds than the ones that packed the arenas he played in during the 80’s. One day, his manager tells Randy that it is the twentieth anniversary of the match between him and his (scripted) arch-rival The Ayatollah. Naturally, Randy agrees to engage in a rematch.

Mickey Rourke is this character, and there are obvious real life parallels to Rourke’s career and Randy the Ram’s that lend an extra layer of emotional potency. An Oscar nomination is inevitable, and is entirely deserved. This is not to say that the other performances are no good, as they are indeed top notch. Marisa Tomei gives great warmth and heart to Pam, a stripper who performs at a bar Randy frequents under the name Cassidy, and whom he has feelings for. Evan Rachel Wood does a commendable job as Randy’s daughter Stephanie who detests him for leaving and choosing his career over her. Tomei and Rourke have especially great chemistry together. The slight mannerisms and inflections in their lines, and how they laugh and smile in certain ways is, to put it simply, fantastic.

Many will compare this film to others such as Rocky, Invincible, and other underdog sports entries. Such comparisons would be unfair to The Wrestler, which differentiates itself by choosing a more atypical sport for its subject. Wresting, like any other sport, has it’s own unique culture and lifestyle different from boxing and football. Screenwriter Robert Siegel and Director Darren Aronofsky explore much of the backstage aspects of wrestling in fascinating detail. We see Randy hitting the tanning beds, getting his hair colored, and purchasing anabolic steroids from a bodybuilder friend to keep up his appearance.  In a locker room before a match, other wrestlers formulate attack plans, deciding which moves to use and what areas of the body to focus on (“Don’t work his leg man, everybody does that. Work his neck.” one wrestler remarks to another as they debate). Aronofsky immerses us in this world of school gymnasiums and community centers, a land of faded tile floors, fluorescent lighting, and white-painted hallways and corridors built of cinderblocks. The fact that he has never before made a film remotely like this (his previous works include the ultra-stylized Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain), makes it all the more impresssive how he is able to so effortlessly capture the eccentricities and facets of the wrestling circuit.

Anchored by Rourkes pitch perfect portrayal of Randy the Ram, and assisted by great supporting performances and Aronofsky’s skillful direction, The Wrestler is a film that ranks among the years best. Forget the WWF, this is the real deal.

Advertisement

~ by thebeast43105 on January 2, 2009.