DVD Review: The Wrestler: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood: Movies & TV
DVD Review: The Wrestler: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood: Movies & TV
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The mystery of Mickey Rourke’s career comes to a grungy apotheosis in The Wrestler the much-battered actor’s triumphant return to the top rope. He plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a heavily scarred and medicated battler who’s twenty years past his best moment in the ring. But he still schleps to every second-rate fight card he can get to, stringing out the paychecks (more likely a fistful of cash) and nursing what’s left of his pride. His attempts to adjust to a more normal kind of life form the most absorbing sections in the movie, whether it’s flirting with a stripper (Marisa Tomei is in good form, in every sense), establishing a bond with his understandably angry daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), or working behind the deli counter at a nondescript megastore. Rourke is commanding in the role; he obviously spent hours in the gym and the tanning salon, and his ease with the semi-documentary style adopted by director Darren Aronofsky allows him to naturalistically interact with the colorful real-life wrestlers who crowd the movie’s ultra-believable locations. All of which helps distract from the film’s overall adherence to ancient formula. You might find yourself waiting for the scene where the risk-taking Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) pulls the switch and reveals his true motives for pursuing this otherwise sentimental story, but there’s no switch. The Wrestler is an old-fashioned hoke machine, given grit by an actor who doesn’t seem to be so much performing the role of ravaged survivor as embodying it. –Robert Horton
Stills from The Wrestler (Click for larger image)
An emotional, gritty return for Aronofsky–I mean Rourke,
By A. Brodie
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The Wrestler marks Darren Aronofsky’s growth as a film-maker from strange, science-fiction tinged films to films with emotional resonance in a real setting. I am a huge Aronofsky fan, loving Requiem for a Dream nearly as much as Pi, but I was underwhelmed by his last effort, The Fountain. His films are almost unbearably intense, most prominently shown in Requiem, but The Fountain abandoned his first two films’ grittiness for a sleeker, polished story-line, exploring ambitious philosophical themes while failing to deliver on the emotional level. For a while, I was worried where Aronofsky’s career would go, especially after seeing that he was helming a project called The Wrestler, which seemed to deviate from the subjects of his previous works.
The Wrestler gets everything right. Aronofsky trades high-minded philosophical themes for a more grounded, concrete narrative. He also reestablishes the inventive camera-work that made Pi and Requiem so aesthetically stunning, shooting almost the entire film on a hand-held camera. And, lastly and most refreshingly, he reinstates the violence and shock-value of his first films, escalating the wrestling scenes to cringe-inducing bouts of brutality and decadence. However, such violence is in aid of characterization–to show the hearts behind these men in the ring, to demonstrate the toll such entertainment may take on one’s body, all in the service of a loyal, loving audience.
“The only place I get hurt is out there,” says “The Ram” as he enters the ring towards the end of the film. Rourke, giving a breathtaking performance that should have EASILY triumphed at the Oscars (it’s a travesty that he didn’t win), provides us a window into the tortured soul of a man who’s thrown his life away for the sake of his profession. No matter how much Ram deviates from our idealized vision of a hero, the audience never feels any animosity towards him; he screwed up, and he knows it, but he can’t help it.
The mirrors to Rourke’s life are easily seen, making the film into some manner of Greek tragedy rather than mere drama. It is Aronofsky’s presence, and a wonderfully crafted script, that sets The Wrestler above other comback portraits like Rocky; the brutality is reminiscent of Raging Bull, and the style behind the film is a marvel in itself. The Ram is equated to Christian iconography, pointed out by Marisa Tomei’s stripper, in that he suffers for humanity–not only is it an effective comparison, but it gives the film more depth than the average comeback piece. The buildup of sounds is used frequently as well, to great effect, to further the window in the life of the Ram.
The film is not for everyone; my sister refused to watch the wrestling scenes, because they are quite shocking. Some scenes are rather melodramatic, but effectively so, making the film a draining emotional experience (I went teary-eyed at least twice). But, it is a rewarding film if you have any interest in the craft, or wish to see the performance of a lifetime by Mickey Rourke.
The resurrection of Mickey Rourke,
By Tarantino Fan -
I’ve been a wrestling fan since the ’70s and it’s one of those things that I have to hide from most people because they think it’s a joke or they just don’t understand what it’s appeal is. Then came along “The Wrestler” and now my friends are asking me questions and taking interest in “the business”. I saw the movie with some friends and family and we had some very spirited discussions afterward. They couldn’t believe that these guys would, for example, mutilate themselves to have blood in matches (a practice called “blading” that’s performed with a small piece of a razor blade), or that years spent in the ring will leave most wrestlers battered and even disabled thanks to the legit wear and tear that wrestling has on the body. Most people assume a wrestling ring is a trampoline, but it’s actually like landing on concrete and over time there’s a price to pay for taking bumps on such a hard surface for so many years. “The Wrestler” reveals all of these issues wrapped up in an enthralling and emotional motion picture you wont soon forget.
Life imitates art on several levels in “The Wrestler”. For example, the movie shows the dark side of steroid abuse that has caused a laundry list of wrestler deaths in just the past 10 years (the pressures of the Monday Night War era claimed the lives of countless wrestlers). Well, during the first backstage wrestling scene, Mickey Rourke’s character shakes hands with a wrestler that is huge and jacked to the gills. That wrestler died from heart failure a few weeks before the movie’s release. Also, there is a scene where another huge and overly muscular wrestler sells several illegal muscle enhancers to Rourke’s character. That wrestler was recently arrested for selling drugs. But the real story here, is how Mickey Rourke’s character of Randy the Ram mirrors Mickey’s life in many ways. Both are former stars, both have pushed their bodies to the limit in sports (Mickey revealed on the Charlie Rose show that he was forced to quit boxing because one more serious blow could’ve been it for him) and both want to get back in the spotlight. Thankfully, Mickey has achieved his goal of regaining the spotlight. As for Randy, that’s a different story.
Randy the Ram, seems to be based on a combination of former wrestlers Lex Luger and Jake the Snake Roberts. Lex Luger’s ailing body and rock bottom financial situation plus Jake’s volatile relationship with his daughter were definite inspirations for screenwriter Robert Siegel. Mickey takes the experiences of Lex and Jake, along with his own and shapes a character that he was born to play. The part was originally written for Nicholas Cage, but I can’t imagine anyone but Mickey Rourke playing this part. Mickey plays Randy with such heart and soul that he truly makes the audience feel for him. We feel his pain, we relate to his shortcomings and we cheer him on to find love and rebuild the relationship with his daughter. When Randy apologizes to his daughter for being on the road wrestling and not being there for her when she needed him, you feel it.
As a wrestling fan, one of the most powerful scenes takes place at the end when Marisa Tomei’s character begs Randy not to wrestle just moments before the start of a match due to his heart condition and Randy tells her that he belongs out there. It’s the only place he fits in, it’s the only place he feels successful and loved. Randy’s music then hits and a man who looked broken down and beaten just a second ago, busts thru that curtain and walks out as a superstar with the crowd eating out of his hand. It’s a powerful scene that sums up why so many wrestlers find it so difficult to walk away from the business.
Don’t let the fact that “The Wrestler” takes place in the world of professional wrestling keep you from seeing it. You don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this movie. Wrestling is merely the backdrop for the drama taking place on the screen. Everyone puts in amazing performances. Rourke and Tomei deserve their Oscar nominations and Evan Rachel Wood nearly steals the movie. Just keep this in mind while watching it. Don’t get too wrapped up in the drama, because after all, it is just a movie. And movies are just fake, scripted entertainment with predetermined outcomes.
Ram Jams Into Your Gut & Penetrates Your Soul,
By R.A. McKenzie (New York) -
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert often says, “It doesn’t matter what a movie is about, but how it’s about it.” In other words, any topic can make a good movie, if the filmmakers & actors use the tools correctly. For too long, pro wrestling has been dismissed in the entertainment community. Darren Aronofsky’s THE WRESLTER isn’t going to convince people to start watching televised wrestling, but it will certainly put a heartbreaking face on a business that is often called “fake.”
THE WRESTLER begins with a credit sequence, showing hundreds of fake magazine covers and newsclips which detail the rise of Randy “The Ram” Robinson. After the glorious hard rock music comes to a close, “The Ram” is seated in a lonely corner, surrounded by toddler tables and toys. His pay is less than he expected. His fans ask for autographs of photos from a time that’s been long gone. His home is a trailer that he can’t afford to keep the landlord from locking out of.
Randy continues to perform, however, because that indominable spirit that exists in most professional wrestlers has overpowered his common sense. After a particularly vicious hardcore match (where the two opponents use glass and ladders and staple guns), Randy passes out. He soon learns that his heart can no longer endure the intensity of wrestling.
Mickey Rourke deserves all of the accolades he’s received. He clearly performed some of his own wrestling maneuvers, and delivers the kind of performance he’s always been capable of since the 80s, but rarely delivered since then. Rourke knows how to look when in the wrestling ring, knows when to brood in his sadness, knows how to desparately relate to the young kids in his trailer park, and even knows how Randy “The Ram” Robinson breathes. It’s not a show-stealing performance, but a subtle one that draws you in from start to finish.
Watching Randy Robinson’s life outside of the wrestling ring is where this movie really shines. There are two outstanding performances from Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Wood plays Randy’s daughter Stephanie, a young woman who rarely saw her father, and has becoming increasingly resentful of his absence in her life. It’s a shame that the dramatic moment where Randy cries his soul out to Stephanie has been played for critics and TV coverage; thankfully, it’s still a powerful scene. It’s followed by a touching dance between the father & daughter, in a room with no music, but the two at least have their harmony for that brief moment in time.
Marisa Tomei plays Cassidy, a stripper whom Randy frequently visits. Tomei’s character gives the “veteran who won’t retire” story some much welcome depth. She shares Randy’s struggle to remain in the spotlight with a generation that no longer wants her. There are several occasions where Cassidy offers the customers a good time, and they bluntly refuse her services. In perhaps the best scene of the movie, Cassidy and “The Ram” finally go to a bar together, and reminisce about how great the 80s were for them. It’s a scene of masterful acting, where we sense that the two actors are actually listening to the other’s feelings. Almost 20 years ago, Marisa Tomei was heavily-criticized for winning an Academy Award in a performance that most thought required little effort. Let me tell you all something, the best actors are the ones who you forget are acting, and when you start calling the stripper “Cassidy” instead of “Marisa Tomei’s character”.
Mickey Rourke, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei add a wonderful dose of reality to THE WRESTLER, a movie that addresses an industry that celebrates hyperealism. Darren Aronofsky is to be commended for restraining his stylized visuals when he directed this feature film. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM was a powerful piece of anti-drug cinema, but THE WRESTLER is thankfully much more like the gentle ROCKY than like Oliver Stone’s supercharged ANY GIVEN SUNDAY. Besides, THE WRESTLER isn’t even a sports movie; it’s a movie about a sports entertainer. Some wrestling fans might not like how the film focuses more on Randy Robinson than the world of professional wrestling. But hopefully they’ll realize that the movie would’ve betrayed its story by focusing on the in-ring spectacle. You can’t feel the sadness of an old-timer’s unrequited passion if you’re constantly sitting under the bright lights and alongside the rabid crowds.
My only critcism of THE WRESTLER is that the in-ring action might not please longtime wrestling fans. There are basically three matches in the movie, and the first one is a frightening letdown. I’ve been to many local shows, and the main event is never a 3-minute contest. The other two matches are acceptable, and are made better because of their dramatic implications. I will leave you to discover how those play out in the story. In a way, this criticism is a compliment, because I sincerely believe that people who are NOT wrestling fans will enjoy this movie MORE than those of us who are. And when “The Ram” makes his final leap to glory, and Bruce Springsteen’s wonderful song plays over the black curtain call, we all feel for “The Ram”. We condemn his self-inflicted damage, but admire his courageous spirit. In the end, THE WRESTLER makes it our responsibility to decide if pro wrestling has destroyed “The Ram”, or has saved him. I don’t which side of the fence you’ll be on, but any movie that gets you talking about the fenceline is well worth your time.
***PS, how did Bruce Springsteen not get nominated for the Oscar for Best Song? That is beyond ridiculous!?***
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