There's something to be said about a movie that contains vitually every cliche in the book and still moves you (or at least me) the way THE WRESTLER did. The recycled-"Rocky" plot can be spotted from a mile away, and the relationships between many of the characters were also predictictable.
But dammit, I had a lump in my throat many times.
So if a movie this average in structure and story can be so affecting, there has to be some magic in it somewhere. All of the attention brought to this film indicates that the magic lies mostly with Mickey Rourke, and his performance is the comeback everyone claims it is. Rourke gives the most physically demanding performance I've seen this year. And if the Oscars have rewarded other actors for similar work in the past, they'd be making a big mistake not to nominate Rourke this year. Does he deserve to win? I'll be damned if I wouldn't be the least bit upset if he did. He is truly that good.
Also great is Marisa Tomei, who also has a strong chance at a nomination. She's got three things going for her. First, she's won the Supporting Actress category before. Second, she plays a prostitute/stripper, and there's a long-standing tradition of nominating actresses playing these roles. And third, she is shirtless and, basically, pantless for almost all of her onscreen minutes, a performance of confidence and daring that I suspect will have voters saying "um, I couldn't have done THAT."
But in addition to these great performances, director Darren Aronofsky deserves a lot of credit. After three increasingly interesting, daring, and confidently directed films, his work on THE WRESTLER seems like a step back at first. It is so stripped-down, almost documentary-like. But you can still see the deliberate choices of a quality director, such as the not-original but still excellent choice of having the camera so frequently follow Rourke from behind, making us as the audience members of The Ram's adoring fan base...chasing the 80s along with him and hoping to relive our youth as well.
And that's what I did when watching THE WRESTLER, and in a lot of ways. There was a time in my childhood when I watched professional wrestling, and that excitement quickly returned with the great action sequences here. And the scenes where Randy attempts to recreate some sort of relationship with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) were painful reminders of the distance I once kept from my own father.
Maybe that's why THE WRESTLER is so much better than it has a right to be. Yes, it's not anything that hasn't been done before, but rarely is it done this good. And amidst every potential movie cliche, everything felt completely REAL.
I cannot tell you how moved I was by this film, from the opening scene straight through to Bruce Springsteen's Oscar-worthy acoustic ballad playing over the closing credits. Pin this one to the mat...this was a slam dunk...or whatever the wrestling term is...a full-nelson? It was great.
3.5 out of 4
But dammit, I had a lump in my throat many times.
So if a movie this average in structure and story can be so affecting, there has to be some magic in it somewhere. All of the attention brought to this film indicates that the magic lies mostly with Mickey Rourke, and his performance is the comeback everyone claims it is. Rourke gives the most physically demanding performance I've seen this year. And if the Oscars have rewarded other actors for similar work in the past, they'd be making a big mistake not to nominate Rourke this year. Does he deserve to win? I'll be damned if I wouldn't be the least bit upset if he did. He is truly that good.
Also great is Marisa Tomei, who also has a strong chance at a nomination. She's got three things going for her. First, she's won the Supporting Actress category before. Second, she plays a prostitute/stripper, and there's a long-standing tradition of nominating actresses playing these roles. And third, she is shirtless and, basically, pantless for almost all of her onscreen minutes, a performance of confidence and daring that I suspect will have voters saying "um, I couldn't have done THAT."
But in addition to these great performances, director Darren Aronofsky deserves a lot of credit. After three increasingly interesting, daring, and confidently directed films, his work on THE WRESTLER seems like a step back at first. It is so stripped-down, almost documentary-like. But you can still see the deliberate choices of a quality director, such as the not-original but still excellent choice of having the camera so frequently follow Rourke from behind, making us as the audience members of The Ram's adoring fan base...chasing the 80s along with him and hoping to relive our youth as well.
And that's what I did when watching THE WRESTLER, and in a lot of ways. There was a time in my childhood when I watched professional wrestling, and that excitement quickly returned with the great action sequences here. And the scenes where Randy attempts to recreate some sort of relationship with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) were painful reminders of the distance I once kept from my own father.
Maybe that's why THE WRESTLER is so much better than it has a right to be. Yes, it's not anything that hasn't been done before, but rarely is it done this good. And amidst every potential movie cliche, everything felt completely REAL.
I cannot tell you how moved I was by this film, from the opening scene straight through to Bruce Springsteen's Oscar-worthy acoustic ballad playing over the closing credits. Pin this one to the mat...this was a slam dunk...or whatever the wrestling term is...a full-nelson? It was great.
3.5 out of 4
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