The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008)

[X.]

The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky | USA | 2008
109 min (IMDb link)



The Wrestler is a devastating film about Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a once-upon-a-time famous wrestler, who now hawks his autographs at poorly-attended conventions, sleeps in a minivan when he cannot make rent, hasn’t spoken to his estranged teenage daughter in years, and is in love with a stripper that charges him $60 for a private lap dance. Old, vulnerable and alone, Randy still wrestles in basement gyms, and has not retired because he has nothing to retire to. Randy is played by Mickey Rourke with an aching sadness in a performance that may move you to tears.

Rourke whose own fall from grace in real life mirrors his tragic onscreen character, may be the most perfect actor for this role. Independent American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, known primarily for his inventive camerawork, delivers memorable visual flourishes (the camera lovingly follows Rourke from behind, mimicking his walk to the ring), but with The Wrestler Aronofsky has also demonstrated his commitment to dialog and actors, using Rourke’s natural charisma as the fuse in an emotionally-charged character study of a broken, lonely man.

[raging]

Darren Aronofsky on the films behind 'The Wrestler'
Greetings, grapple fans. As well as seeing the return of Mickey Rourke, Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Wrestler’ is part of an American cinema tradition, as the director explains to David Jenkins
‘The Wrestler’ is the latest work by Darren Aronofsky, the 39-year-old director of ‘Pi’ and ‘Requiem for a Dream’. It’s interesting for three reasons. Firstly, it marks the return to ‘serious’ acting of its bruised star, Mickey Rourke, who plays a low-rent local wrestler, Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson, who haplessly risks his life to cling on to past glories; the role won Rourke the award for best actor at Sunday’s Golden Globes. Secondly, the film picked up the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival – a remarkable feat considering that Aronofsky’s last film, the tragically overblown sci-fi calamity, ‘The Fountain’, was booed on the same turf. Finally, ‘The Wrestler’ is a film firmly rooted in a long American tradition of films which examine the mysterious allure of violence as a way of life.

Here, Aronofsky explains how ‘The Wrestler’ fits into that last strain of American cinema by discussing some of the ‘fight films’ that influenced him.

‘Angel Heart’(1987)/‘Homeboy’(1988)
‘I became aware of Mickey Rourke through “Angel Heart”. I was backpacking in Europe when I was 18 and went to see the movie because I was a big Lisa Bonet fan (I was from Brooklyn and they filmed “The Cosby Show” down the street). I remember being blown away by his performance. He was so cool, so tough and so soft at the same time. I got to know “Homeboy” (above) when I started working with Mickey. He asked if I’d ever seen this boxing film he’d written, and he gave me a tape. Not many actors have armour like that. Then you look into his eyes and he’s got a jelly heart.’

‘Raging Bull’ (1980)
‘Well, “Raging Bull” is masterful in many different ways. I think it’s a very different type of film to “The Wrestler”, but, you know, it’s been a major influence. I feel it’s more of an impressionistic film. I think Scorsese was using the camera as a paintbrush, especially in the fighting scenes. I watch that film and I question whether it’s possible to make something like that today. “Raging Bull” is an art film, and it’s harder to get money for those kinds of projects. For a film like “The Wrestler”, we had one financial backer on the planet who was willing to make the movie with me, and because of that we had a very limited budget.’

‘Rocky’ (1976)
‘For me, “Rocky” is a sports movie, but it’s also a performance movie. Wrestling and wrestlers err more towards acting and theatre than towards sports. There was a film of John Osborne’s play “The Entertainer” (1960), which interested me: Olivier plays a vaudeville performer who can’t say goodbye to the stage. And relating to the idea of “Rocky”, there’s a song written by Charles Mingus called ‘The Clown’, a jazz song with lyrics, and it’s about a clown who has to do more and more extreme stunts. One day, he gets hit in the head with a prop and the crowd goes crazy, so he has to keep putting more and more of himself at risk. That was a big influence.’

‘They Live’ (1988)
‘I think that with “They Live” John Carpenter was trying to lampoon fight scenes as, you know, they were clearly fake. And what’s interesting about the hardcore wrestling in “The Wrestler” (where Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson is beaten with broken glass, barbed wire and staple guns) is that the audience are not idiots – they know wrestling is fake. I think one of the reasons that hardcore wrestling exists is because the cat is out of the bag and everyone’s knows that what they’re experiencing is a theatrical number. People in that bloodthirsty world are looking for men and women who risk themselves and their health by doing more and more dangerous stunts. In “They Live” – it’s not about who wins; it’s about how much can people hurt each other.’

‘Kickboxer’ (1989)
‘I am a fan of those movies. I used to love the Van Damme and Steven Seagal films when they came out. They were fun. They’re not making those kinds of movies in America any more; they prefer legitimate superheroes: middle-class, medium-build guys who become these pumped-up superheroes like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme and Seagal from the 1980s. We don’t have many of those guys any more. Maybe Gerard Butler or Jason Statham, but it’s different. Then it was about body, now it’s about costumes. With our film, I don’t think we were commenting on those movies, but I’m sure it was floating around in my subconscious. There’s a lot about bodybuilding culture in “The Wrestler” and I’m sure that derives from all the early Schwarzenegger stuff like “Pumping Iron”.’

‘Fat City’ (1972)
John Huston’s ‘Fat City’ was something we drew on, especially the atmospheric vibe, the poetry and the naturalism. There was also another film called “North Dallas Forty” (1979) with Nick Nolte, and even though it’s an American football movie, a lot of the themes apply. Then there’s “Wanda” (1970) by Elia Kazan’s wife, Barbara Loden. It’s a great film. I was interested in the realism. My previous films, “Pi”, “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Fountain” were stylised. I missed being in the gutter. I wanted to go back there with “The Wrestler”.’

[X.]

Good article; thanks, Raging.

[animatedude]

ok this was released in the UAE and myabe bahrain too this weekend.any idea if it will be heavily censored or not?

[kaytee]

Ofcourse it will be heavily censored, it will be a huge surprise if you see Marisa Tomei in the movie at all. Watch it on DVD instead.

[X.]

Just today I met Rob Siegel, the screenwriter of The Wrestler. He's not exactly a people-friendly kinda guy...apparently the film was written in very close collaboration with Aronofsky who "grilled" Siegel for a year and got him to hammer the script into something he finally liked. Then Mickey Rourke basically ignored most of it and improvised the dialog! In one of the earlier versions of the script, the daughter character was an alcoholic and Marisa Tomei and Mickey Rourke were old lovers who had grown apart. Siegel also admitted that the script was rewritten about "fifty fucking times!"

Nicholas Cage was signed to the play the part when Aronofsky could get enough funding on Rourke's name. But after spending one week of hanging out with Cage, Aronofsky realized "he was just wrong for the part and that the role belonged to Rourke." Aronofsky accepted $6 million instead of $15 million as budget, and the rest is history.

[animatedude]

can someone confirm this was heavily censored?

[fizz]

can someone confirm this was heavily censored?

Yes essentially, a lot of the Marisa Tomei stuff...

[animatedude]

overrated.

i avoided watching this for many reasons.mainly,i have ZERO respect for both wrestling and stripping.i'll sound like a queer but i don't approve of wrestling as a sport and if there's anything i hate more than WWE and wrestling,it's the ppl who watch wrestling.

...awww look at him although he is a wrestler he is a human being like all of us and he falls for the stripper who turns him down at first because she wants to keep her job blah blah...how fuckin' original!!!

..and are we supposed to sympathize with an ass who can't get himself together? and why is it always they remember their daughters and sons when they fall down? GET YOURSELF TOGETHER,GET A JOB AND BE A MAN.

and are we supposed to feel good because he succeeded on jumping on the other guy at the end? really?

and would this movie get all the attention if it wasn't for Micky's performance? on the other hand,i must admit Aronofsky succeed in creating a believable world. 

[ozzylogic]

What's wrong with stripping?

[ayaa1977]

I wanted to write a big fat essay after seeing this film but then I read what Ragin, Fizz, Mad, and AK wrote and that grounded me and sort of put me to shame, because whatever I wrote would be a. redundant and b. not as well put. Surmise to say I liked the film a lot. I think Mickey Rourke poured his heart into a role of a lifetime. It came out naturally, all the reminiscing, loneliness, and regrets. It is like he wasn't acting at all. I was not really that familiar with his work or personal life, of course I knew of him as the badass from some 80's films, but the first time he grabbed my attention was in Sin City as Marv and I wasn't even looking for him as I was all about Bruce Willis going into that film. He really should have won that Oscar.

I wanted to mention that relationship he had with Cassidy. I really was bothered by it and I wrestled with myself, no pun intended, about the importance of her role. Then I got it, she is there to show us the contrast between her and him, these are two aging people in careers that put them in disadvantage, he is killing himself because his body can't take it anymore, and she is 40's woman strip for men thinks she reminds them of their mothers. The difference is, she knows she is only Cassidy in the strip club and Pam is the real her. She knows her Cassidy's shelf life is almost over and she is at peace with that and prepared to open that chapter of her life where she is Pam fulltime. While he doesn't know how to be anything but the Ram, he even rejects his real name Robin. So tired of trying everything, he resorts finally to the one thing that defines him knowing that it will be his end, but at least it will be an end on his own terms.

I was also impressed by the camaraderie shown between the wrestlers in the film, they really care about each other and stand by one another, because they understand each other so well, and that is why Randy only feel home amongst them.

I started off by saying that I am not gonna write a long essay and I ended up with one, so now I am just gonna give you my rating: 4/5.    

Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street?
If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me

Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor

[X.]

You have a good point about the similarity between Cassidy and Randy -- both use their bodies in order to feel loved.

Watch the doc Beyond the Mat which is the real inspiration behind this film.

[ayaa1977]

You have a good point about the similarity between Cassidy and Randy -- both use their bodies in order to feel loved.

Watch the doc Beyond the Mat which is the real inspiration behind this film.

I did not know that. Thanks for this piece of information.