Monday, August 30, 2010

A Tough Review Of The Movie The Wrestler

By Mark Nixon

What do you mean you haven't seen The Wrestler yet? It may well be one of the top ten movie downloads of the last decade! Everything you've head about this movie is true. Mickey Rourke gives the performance of a lifetime, making a strong comeback, and the film itself may well be director Darren Aronofsky's masterpiece.

The heart, soul and body of the movie is Mickey Rourke's performance as Randy The Ram Robinson. Well, his real name is Robin Ramzinski. He was a huge star in the hair metal eighties days of wrestling, but has since faded into obscurity. Now he wrestles on the weekends, but it doesn't quite pay the bills, and he has to supplement that by putting in hours at the local grocery store.

Randy's lifestyle has alienated everyone he's ever loved and seriously done a number on his body. He has to see if he can make a comeback, both in the ring, where he's washed up, and in his personal life, where he doesn't even have a loyal fanbase to keep him going.

The movie will rip your heart out, showing Randy as he is in a light that it as once both humane, and unforgiving. He's not given a pass for the mistakes he's made, but he's shown as a real human being, whose feelings are valid. He's made mistakes, but that doesn't make him a monster, and he's shown in a loving light, if not an always flattering one.

Rourke is, again, incredible here. He lived this role in life for years, suffering through all sorts of problems and losing his place in the Hollywood pecking order. This movie is Rourke's comeback, his story, just as it is Randy's. Rourke didn't just play this role, he was this role. Interestingly, Nicholas Cage was offered the job and dropped out because he knew his friend Rourke wanted it, and, in fact, would have done a better job.

Without Cage, they had to settle on a smaller budget, but the end result is a much smaller, more intimate film. Rourke wrestles for crowds of maybe a hundred people at a time, giving his all to each and every performance and bleeding it out for the fans.

It's an old story with cliche characters, but it never feels that way. Because it's imbued with such humanity and honesty, it feels fresh and new, despite the fact that we've all heard of the down-on-his-luck fighter before.

The movie manages to warm your heart and break it at the same time. It's something like Rocky meets Raging Bull in the world of sports movies, and the ending carries a double meaning. We won't spoil it for you, but it's worth a moment of reflection after the acoustic Bruce Springsteen song plays out over the end credits.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment