Movie Review: The Wrestler

After a long holiday of cookies and rice pudding, we’ve gotten our lazy asses off our desks and into the movie theater. We spent the holiday watching Will Smith get all worked up over Seven Pounds…cringed as Tom Cruise tried to kill Hitler in Valkyrie…and pretty much bawled our eyes out at the end of Marley & Me. We know…it’s just a dog…but gosh darn it…that puppy was cute. All of those harsh celluloid memories faded away after we had the pleasure of seeing Mickey Rourke do the impossible…make a comeback in The Wrestler.

We’re huge boxing movie fanatics. Rocky, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Raging Bull…and we think this should join the ranks. Mickey Rourke gives what might be the best performance of a lifetime. Here, all of his plastic surgery, crazy antics, and purported drug abuse make this character that much more complex. At times, watching The Wrestler, we’re really not sure if Rourke is playing himself or the character…but it just doesn’t matter. This is one of the most powerful performances in a sports film in a very long time.

Rourke plays a down and out wrestler who knows that his career is coming to an end. He senses it in every fiber of his being and it shows with every move he makes. He’s tired, beaten, and just ready for life to give him some peace. But, giving up for him isn’t that easy…he’s a fighter and that’s all he knows how to do.

There are some great supporting characters in the film. Marisa Tomei plays a stripper who befriends Rourke’s character early in the film. Their lives parallel each other, yet they just can’t seem to connect. Marisa plays the dramatic part well and never gives in to the cliched stripper antics. We know what you’re thinking…yes, she’s naked…and to quote from Seinfeld…“They are real and they are spectacular.”

Evan Rachel Wood plays Rourke’s daughter and she portrays the complicated abandoned character perfectly. She doesn’t want to forgive her dad…even if the audience wants her to…it’s a brave choice of storytelling, but her character really rings true.

Directed by the amazingly talented, Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler is a tour de force of powerful cinematic decisions instilled with an astonishing amount of restraint. This particular movie is where Aronofsky really shines. In some of his earlier work, including Pi and Requiem For A Dream, Mr. Aronofsky created fantastic films. If there were any flaws in his earlier work, it was his inability to remove himself as a filmmaker and just let the movie play out. Here, he clearly learned some life lessons and never lets himself interfere with great, simple storytelling.

We say check out The Wrestler if you get a chance and find out why Rourke got his Golden Globe. You might be pleasantly surprised.