The Wrestler (2008)

Aronofsky Declines As Rourke Rises, And They Meet Somewhere In Between

The Wrestler by the acclaimed director Aronofsky, whose earlier works include his magnum opus Requiem for a Dream and the magnificent The Fountain, is a touching film for reasons that go beyond the story told on screen. When Randy (played by Mickey Rourke, one of the most interesting careers Hollywood has ever seen) calmly complains, in a bar scene that "the 90s fuckin' sucked", he creates one of the most emotionally charged moments of the film. As you might already know, Rourke's career (and arguably his life) was heading towards the rock-bottom during the late 80s and early 90s when he quit acting and engaged in professional boxing despite his old age. Hearing him say those lines in a film where he makes his big comeback from pain and misery to appreciation and praise, is simply touching to say the least.

Recently in an interview published in Rotten Tomatoes where Rourke shared with us his five favorite films, he also declared: "[The Wrestler] is a movie I'm very proud of. It's the best movie I've ever made". It should come as no surprise, considering the numerous parallels one can draw between Randy and Rourke - replace wrestling with boxing and Randy's life with Rourke's film career, you pretty much have a different version of Mickey Rourke's life story; a version with an arguably sadder ending than what we have witnessed in the Golden Globe ceremony last night. And this is exactly the reason why the aforementioned scene (and maybe the film itself as well) works as a moving emotional climax.

The Wrestler is about a pro wrestler who lives with the haunting memories of his successful past as well as the lack of a lot of things in his life which he didn't realize were missing until he found himself completely lonely save for his buddies at 'work' and a stripper in a club where he is a regular. The story progresses, with incredible realism and attention to detail, as Randy uses his reputation to make his living by taking parts in scripted matches; until he is offered a comeback fight with his legendary 'arch-nemesis' The Ayatollah, in exchange for a huge bulk of money. And what starts out as an opportunity to make his ends meet and relive the excitement and pride which used to be so common to him in the past, evolves into his only chance to put meaning into his life; because eventually he comes to the realization that outside the arena, he is no one. He has no further chances in life and has nothing else to be proud of.

Randy is an optimist and cheerful character despite everything; even when he has to accept the job at a local deli to hand out pasta salad to older ladies who are never content with the amount of things, he is patient and he does his best to accept that lifestyle and go on. He provides a perfect balance to a film which falls slightly towards the depressing side (as they tend to, when Aronofsky's name is attached to them). But eventually, he goes mental over a fan's recognition of his face because that incident slaps the cold hard reality into his face. That specific moment also starts the turn of events, towards the end of which we find ourselves holding our breaths for a reason that I will not spoil within this review. But I should note that The Wrestler has nothing less than a perfect ending.

Rourke's performance received a lot of rave reviews and praise, and he deserves it - his depiction of Randy is considered and sober, if not too close to his own character at times. But then again, the whole film closely resembles his own life so maybe the best way to play the character for Rourke was to play himself. Towards the end of every year we have a couple of films like The Wrestler; films that mostly rely on the performance(s) of the lead actor(s) and don't offer much in terms of everything else. Last year we had Away From Her and La Vie en Rose; before that Venus and Half Nelson and even before them there were films like Capote, North Country and Monster. They are not particularly bad films and the performances were indeed mesmerizing but I would have hard time placing them among the films that I think will last, age well and be remembered for years to come. The fact that Aronofsky felt content with such a film was my only disappointment. After a masterpiece like Requiem for a Dream, he did The Fountain (which was flawed but great nonetheless) and now The Wrestler (with which there is nothing wrong except being relatively more straightforward and ordinary). I, for one, still think he's at the top of his game; but one would expect a talented director's work to mature with passing years and to start dealing with more significant subjects matters in more challenging styles. In this case, the very opposite seems to be happening. I hope near future (i.e. The Fighter and RoboCop) proves me wrong in this.

As for Mickey Rourke, I definitely felt great when listening to his acceptance speech during Golden Globes. There were probably better performances this year (and I still think he was far more impressive in Sin City than in The Wrestler), but he might go on winning all sorts of awards left to win. Because if there are two things that Hollywood loves unconditionally, they are happy endings and emotional comeback stories.

7/10

Note: This article is a part of the 2008 awards season review series which will be the primary feature of The Long Take until the Oscar Night. The information below will be updated as listed awards are handed out and more nominations are announced.

Nominated For:

• Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Mickey Rourke) - Academy Awards
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Marisa Tomei) - Academy Awards

• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Marisa Tomei) - Golden Globes

• Best Cinematography (Maryse Alberti) - Independent Spirit Awards
  
• Best Male Lead (Mickey Rourke) - Independent Spirit Awards
  
• Best Feature (Darren Aronofsky & Scott Franklin) - Independent Spirit Awards

• Actor of the Year (Mickey Rourke) - London Critics Circle Film Awards

• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Mickey Rourke) - Screen Actors Guild Awards

• Best Original Screenplay (Robert Siegel) - Writers Guild of America Award

• Excellence in Costume Design for Film, Contemporary (Amy Westcott) - Costume Designers Guild Awards

• Best Leading Actor (Mickey Rourke) - BAFTA Awards
  
• Best Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei) - BAFTA Awards

• Excellence in Production Design, Contemporary Films (Timothy Grimes) - Art Directors Guild Awards
  

Won:

• Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) - Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

• Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) - Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

• Best Original Song, Motion Picture (Bruce Springsteen) - Golden Globes
  
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama (Mickey Rourke) - Golden Globes

• Best Performance, Male (Mickey Rourke) - Toronto Film Critics Association Awards

• Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) - Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards

• Golden Lion (Darren Aronofsky) - Venice Film Festival

• Ten Best Movies of the Year - American Film Institute Awards

• Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) - Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
• Best Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei) - Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

• Best Actor (Mickey Rourke) - Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
• Best Directors (Darren Aronofsky) - Kansas Film Critics Circle Awards
• Best Original Screenplay (Robert D. Siegel) - Kansas Film Critics Circle Awards

• Best Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei) - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards