Have You Ever Seen a One Armed Man Punching at Nothing but the Breeze

Review: The Wrestler

I'm a huge fan of Darren Aronofsky. Before The Fountain, I had to argue with many that he wasn't purely the MTV stylist that Requiem for the Dream tagged him as. Don't get me wrong, Aronofsky is an amazing visualist. The Fountain only proves that. With that film (one that i waited six years dying for) he took himself to the next level of cinematic craft, creating a visually innovative and stunning film, as well as an emotional one. There is an underlying humanity beneath all the pretty flash of Requiem and Fountain, and with The Wrestler, that flash has been stripped as bare as the soul of lead role Mickey Rourke's Randy "the Ram" Robinson. All that's left is his humanity. And boy is it a beauty to see.



Much has been and will be made of Mickey Rourke's performance. It's not hyperbole. Rouke deserves every word dedicated to his accolades. It's been a long time coming. The Wrestler is the role Rouke was born to play. I'm so glad that Aronofsky stood by his gut, and took a budget cut; Nicholas Cage gracefully stepping aside and backing Rourke a role written for him. The film works on a meta level. The Ram's career mirroring Rourke's own.

Randy: "The 90's sucked"

Yes they did for Rouke, who literally disappeared for the screens for a decade before returning in smaller character roles thanks to Robert Rodriguez and Tony Scott. If this film had a subtitle it'd be the Passion of Mickey Rourke. As Randy himself says, he's a "dired up piece of meat." A man whose career has taken as much toll as his body. Randy is washed up and alone. A daughter that hates him, and a crush on a stripper near her end much like him. Both burdened with a occupation and responsibility they cannot escape.

Yet together Marisa Tomei's Cassidy and Rourke's Ram have that beautiful chemistry of two old souls surviving the life they've been dealt. Tomei deserves her praise as much as Rourke. If anything, and its minor, its that at age 44 she's still too beautiful to play a washed up stripper. Would you say no to a naked Marisa Tomei standing in front of you? I'm half her age and I don't think so. But despite that physicality its Tomei's working class, brown beaten spirit that shines through. She's a glimmer of hope in both the film and Randy's life.

Also not to go unnoticed is Evan Rachel Wood. I've had my eye on her since Once and Again years ago. She's come a long way since Thirteen. Wood's screen time is brief but brimming with emotion. There's beauty in her few scenes with Rourke that really does capture a girl that would like nothing better to have a Daddy again. A father Randy never was, and never can be.

All this is grounded by Aronofsky's uncharacteristically plain, verte-style camera. Rourke is introduced through a series of tracking back shots, Rourke's bleached hair and huge shoulder blades on display more than his mug. This is a man whose best days are behind him. He is not walking at us into a brighter future, he's walking away from former days filled with glory. The Ram's saga is built on the details that Aronofsky and cinematographer Maryse Alberti (in place of his usual collaborator Matthew Libatique) loving capture with deft subtly. This is a film about how Randy prepares to face the world, whether it his audience or the deli counter he works at (in an wonderfully reversed Raging Bull-like entrance). Whether it's with bandages, steriods, bleach and tanning, or hair nets and swallowing pride, the every day minutia of the Ram's life is the journey.

It all builds to a beautiful final rematch with The Ram's old foe, The Ayatollah. It ends with a staunch ambiguity that lets the viewers decide as they are sheparded out the door to an amazing original track by The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen (who should hopefully win Best Song Oscar. Go download it now.)

The Wrestler is a film with its heart on its sleeve. I hope it gives a gold statue to Rourke and opens more doors for Aronofsky. Together they've crafted a touching modern tragedy, and one of the best films of the year.