The great Mickey Rourke (who won the BAFTA and Golden Globe for this role, but cruelly missed the Oscar) returns as broken down grappler Randy Robinson. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), The Wrestler won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival.
Randy's glory days in the ring are long gone. Old, alone and estranged from his only daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), he now works the independent wrestling curcuit. After a heart attack, he's told by doctors to stop wrestling. But for Randy, life outside the ring can be more burtal than in it. Marisa Tomei stars as his companion, a stripper similarly well past her prime.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
On first glance, this looks like Rocky goes wrestling. Upon closer inspection, it’s more a modern day Raging Bull where the protagonist becomes a touchstone for loneliness and self-destruction.
As a a washed up, self-deluded pro-wrestler, Mickey Rourke deserves every superlative that has been directed towards him. The amount of authenticity and emotional gravity he brings to the role of Randy the ram lifts the pathos and tragedy to another level. The role bears a strong resemblance to his own career and he could almost be accused of playing himself, but the blurry line between the real and fantasy worlds is one of the film’s greatest assets.
Director Aronofsky discards the flashy montages of his earlier work to focus intently on character with a bare bones, hand-held aesthetic. The nature of performance and the addictive cheers of the crowd are expressed in a painfully humane fashion that transcends preconceptions of wrestling and its questionable cultural and artistic value. Marisa Tomei’s role as an aging stripper is the perfect romantic counterpoint to Rourke, further evidence of the film’s compassionate view of social outsiders.
A brutal but tender character study, The Wrestler is easily the best drama of the year so far.
By Andreas Heinemann, Flicks.co.nz
Darren Aronofsky delivers again. Whether you see THE WRESTLER as a macho companion piece to BLACK SWAN or a study of one man's self-discovery, this documentary-style film is a powerful, moving and all too human tale. Mickey Rourke revels in his role as the washed-up wrestler. Not for all, this is no popcorn munchers cineplex blockbuster, but a thoughtful, slow-moving window on a character's soul. Wrestle against it and Mickey will smack you down, but bear with it and it delivers intelligent adult entertainment of the highest order. Oh, and if you don't wanna know that wrestling's fixed and they're all just acting... stick with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's movies!
This film came in on waves on hype and it was perhaps inevitable that it would not live up to it especially when reviews like the flicks one compare it to "Raging Bull". Rourke does indeed gives a truly fantastic, well-rounded performance, the rest of the cast is excellent also, and Aronovsky, eschewing his usual self-consciously arty moves, shoots the film with a great deal of veracity. However the script is somewhat cliched and pedestrian in it's plotting. The scenes involving his daughter, who is more of a plot pivot than a flesh and blood character, and Tomei's character's 11th hour reciprocations of affection are clumsy and ring false, robbing the film of much emotional power. "The Wrestler" would have greatly benefited from an more exploratory, less constrianed to the standard three act stucture, approach like "Raging Bull". Indeed most of the effective scenes in the film were the ones not forwarding the plot eg the behind-the-scenes wresting stuff and Randy's first day on the deli counter. Despite my negative feelings towards the script the film is still a very good one. Randy comes across as a flawed yet immensely likeable person, an 'Entertainer'. The film makes it clear that his love for performing is not borne out of love for himself but love for his audience and it is beautifully stated in the film and the brilliant closing song by Bruce Springsteen.
This was boring. A movie about a loser with a really weak story line. Very disappointing given the reviews. Kept on waiting for something to happen. Rates with the worst.
This movie was money well spent we really enjoyed it dealt with fears that alot of people face and could probably related to. Would look at watching this movie again
Flicks review is correct - the best drama of the year so far. Mickey Rourke is so right for this role. I'll never forget his sad portrayal of Randy the Ram. It's a very simple film, nothing really unexpected happens, but it's such a compelling character study. Perfect casting.
This is Rourke doing astonishing physical acting.
I liked this film immensely. I like the way that it has for ever raised the bar for what a sports biopic can be, the way it tells a noisy story with moments of great quietness and insight.
An emotional smackdown. Rourke’s never been better, and the change of pace and texture suits Aronofsky perfectly. The Raging Bull of wrestling movies? Oh, go on then.
Bolstered by a career-best performance from Mickey Rourke and outstanding work by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.
The Wrestler doesn't add up. It's constructed with great care around a lead performance that is everything it could possibly be, but the picture itself is off-putting and disappointing.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 26th Mar 2009.
Release date: March 26th 2009.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
