Verdict: Sometimes hard to watch but always, always a film with grit, heart and integrity. In other words, classic Aronofsky. Rourke gives the performance of his career to date as the absolutely lovable violent thug Randy ‘The Ram’, complemented brilliantly by stripper/mom Marisa Tomei and abandoned daughter Evan Rachel Wood.
It wouldn’t be a film by Darren Aronofsky if it didn’t mix moments of graphic violence, blood and gore with heart-wrenching scenes of emotion and inner-torment. The Wrestler won universal acclaim upon its release, and it’s easy to see why.
Rourke gives a deeply-affecting performance as Robin ‘Randy the Ram’ Ramzinski; a performance that saw the actor welcomed back into Hollywood’s A-List folds after a long time in the cold with an Oscar nomination. Rourke’s multi-layered performance is one of several brilliant acting turns in The Wrestler; Tomei is both hilarious and heart-breaking as stripper/mother Cassidy/Pam, in a role that saw her earn an Academy Award nomination for Supporting Actress. Wood is sharply believable as Randy’s bitter daughter Stephanie, in a sub-plot that builds Randy’s character up for a fall.
There are moments, mostly in the first half of the film, that are extremely graphic. Not shocking, considering this is a film about a professional wrestler. Aronofsky considers The Wrestler to be a companion piece to Black Swan, an equally disturbing and graphic film about an athlete’s search for satisfaction in perfection.
The poignancy and emotion of Aronofsky’s film comes, in majority, from the startling parallels to be drawn between Ram’s life and Rourke’s life off-screen. This fact was played upon massively in the publicity and advertising for the film, with posters reading ‘Witness the resurrection of Mickey Rourke’, but was plain to see for all viewers of the film familiar with the frequently tumultuous relationship Rourke has had with the culture of Hollywood and celebrity.
In my opinion, this is one of the best films of the last few years, and is a must-see for all movie fans. I myself have always hated wrestling, but enjoyed this film immensely and found myself with a newfound respect for those wrestlers who put themselves through this day in, day out in the name of show-business. Characters like that put certain actors and Hollywood stars to shame, though not Rourke, who proves in this film he is one of acting’s greatest talents.
The tagline for the film was ‘Love. Pain. Glory.’ That pretty much sums Rourke up.
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