2008’s The Wrestler,
directed by Darren Arnofsky.
Starring Mickey Rourke, Marissa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood,
Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Wass Stevens, and Ajay Naidu.
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
(Marissa Tomei) and Best Actor (Mickey Rourke).
What is it about?
The Wrestler is a
story about a middle aged man (Mickey Rourke) who’s glory days of professional
wrestling are behind him. No longer a headliner, Rourke ekes out a living wrestling
at community centres on weekends and part time work at a grocery store. With
fried hair, a hearing aid, and a heart that is threatening to quit on him after
years of bodybuilder abuse, time isn’t on his side. Rourke has feelings for an
exotic dancer (Marissa Tomei), and a daughter that he hasn’t been in contact
with for years. Will Rourke be able to prioritize so he can stay alive- and win
outside of the ring?
Why is it worth seeing?
The Wrestler is a
different take than usual from typically intense director Darren Arnofsky. Freed of
time travelling spiritual epics and public service announcements about the
dangers of addictions and ballet absorption, he saves the intensity for the
depth with which we get to know Mickey Rourke’s Randy 'The Ram' Robinson wrestler
character.
Arnofsky’s sober penetration of Rourke’s character at times
is like that of a documentary, as we watch a man struggle to get by in the
margins of New Jersey. Previously celebrated for his theatrical heroics in the
ring, he has to adjust to the realities of a body that can no longer compete in
a world that seems to have passed him by. In a film featuring performers who design
physical acts of theatricality while looking like glamorous rock stars, few
takes are as blessedly grounded.
With a sparse script by Robert Siegal, conversation and
exposition are minimized for maximum effect, as we follow Rourke on his journey.
None of this potency is possible, without a career defining performance by
Rourke. Even without an Oscar to show for it, it is an Oscar defining
performance- a role impossible to imagine another actor portraying, as Rourke
himself is a Hollywood monument to squandered potential. Rourke is nicely flanked
by Marissa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, no slouches themselves as they aide our
flawed hero in his resonant journey.
Wrestling is an entertainment I adored before hitting double
digits- previous to the days where it felt inauthentic in all of its tight
wearing hyperbolic macho miasma. Its intentions were always clear, and as the
soap opera continued, the stories would grind themselves to a pulp filled
conclusion. But The Wrestler isn’t
about a man who wrestles other warriors- but one who grapples with his own
demons.
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