Mickey Rourke & “The Wrestler”….
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iView Author: BIPIN VADDI (Boston, U.S.A)
Email: bvaddi@gmail.com
Mickey Rourke & “The Wrestler”
The Wrestler is a dark little film about a broken-down professional wrestler whose glory days are far behind him.
Randy “The Ram” Robinson was once young, strong, famous, successful and wildly popular and as time goes by and decades later, he is actually a lost, disillusion resident of a trailer park in one of the more trashier parts of new Jersey. He works in community centers and grocery stores to hardly get by with rent and usually has to sleep in his van and spend the cold jersey nights.
From his tan to his muscles, everything about The Ram is fake, and with the passage of time, it’s all he can do to maintain the facade.
The Wrestler is a story that covers both the cult of celebrity and the transformative power of art, although it will no doubt be interpreted outside North America as a big, fat metaphor for the United States. So much for the death of the American dream!!! Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson was a superstar in the 1980s, demanding millions of dollars for every appearance and influencing a generation of adoring blue-collar fans. But the very elements which allowed him to succeed back then — the grandiosity, the narcissism, the willingness to lay every inch of his body on the line for a good show — now make it impossible for him to do anything else. He can’t stand the idea of working behind a counter somewhere and he lacks the skills for more sophisticated occupations. He’s poured tons of junk into his body over the years, which has eaten him away until he’s little more than a blown-up shell. What does he ultimately end up with?
Well, why would you want to see the depressing, sad, little movie then? of course – it is Mickey Rourke’s performance. It is just fantastic. You could actually feel the pain, when watching him go about his life in the movie. From living in a trailer park to ingesting his body with steroids and painkillers, trying some weights out at the gym, cutting him self up for some blood and gore, to a lot more things. I do not want to spill over the entire movie, but it sure is a great watch.
The Wrestler is shot in a spare, documentary-type fashion, and the better to underline the intensity of Rourke’s performance. The story is raw and often tough to watch, but Rourke is so good that you can’t look away. The actor helped write some of his own dialogue, and that — along with the obvious art-imitates-life relationship between actor and character — may explain why the role fits Rourke like a glove.
His best friend is Pam, a stripper at a club where Randy goes. Marisa Tomei, who unfailingly gives a good performance film after film, plays Pam. Here she has just the right balance of street vulgarity and delicacy.
Aronofsky’s REQUIEM FOR A DREAM was about drug addiction. This film is about a man addicted to the cheers of the fans. Director Darren Aronofsky dispenses with the flashy techniques of his previous two films, instead rendering Randy’s story with handheld cameras and stressed improvisation.
Randy’s best moments have all been in front of screaming crowds and he is facing giving that up. Rourke’s performance is simply mind-blowing and the best of the year.
Check out his interviews before the release of the movie, where he details how he was casted and the parallels with this life, how he worked along with Aronofsky. Nice watch.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pg4NttiW8Y
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2aAQ6Wcc44
I simply loved the ending of the movie (of course, I am not giving it away) – Go watch it!!!
- Bipin Vaddi
Tags: Darren Aronofsky, Marisa Tomei, mickey Rourke, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, The Wrestler
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Mickey definitely deserves an Oscar for his performance in this movie……one of the best movies this year…..Marissa who played the stripper is outstanding too….
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You rock dudeeeeeee
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great writeup man. been reading up your 3 posts so far. keep them coming. I totally agree on mickey’s performance, I think its the perf of the year. hopefully this resurrects his career (I am almost sure, it will) and we’ll get to see more of him.
cheers.
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Great movie and in my opinion Aronofsky’s first truly great film, Rourke’s performance was great but i fail to see anyone other than Sean Penn (Milk) taking away all the awards this year….
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Nice post..good going..I was a big time prowrestling fan in my younger days and since the past few years have been following the “behind the scenes” of Pro wrestling. Its an interesting industry. Billions of dollars, movie deals, multi-million dollar paycheks, merchendising deals, etc..The wrestler and Beyond the mat (which came out a few years ago) paint a very true picture of what exactly happens in the industry..Drug addiction, addiction to painkillers, extensive brain and body damage, sever injuries, uncontrollable rage due to steroids, death due to body breakdown are not uncommon. Some of the biggest names in the industry have been known to face crippling injuries, paralysis, addiction and some have even committed suicide. In a recent tragic case, a well known wrestler had murdered his wife and child before committing suicide. its a sad industry. The glamour often overshadows the real life tragedies… quite like bollywood.
The wrestler is one of the best films in recent times and of course, the fact that Mickey Rourke gives an excellent performance only adds to the flava..
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awesome post bipin. nicely written.
great movie. watched it last night, after reading the post. you watched gran torino, if so,,,, what are you thought?
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Mickey Rourkey is in advanced talks to sign up to play villain in Iron Man 2 !!! (EONLINE)
how cool would that be ? awesome…
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saw The Fountain and i have to say movie was too complex and philosiphical to many people
but still movie for a moment made me think about lifeand existence for a moment
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