THE WRESTLER
THE WRESTLER
December 22 2010, DVD, home living room, Netflix
A great showcase for the considerable acting chops of one Mr. Mickey Rourke, and a Hollywood-glamor-inaccurate view of the world of professional wrestling, and what becomes of a champion once he's in his fifties, broke down, had the brains beaten out of him, alone in the world and broke, and yet has nothing else to live for. Sure, Randy the Ram tries to make human connections with a gorgeous, seemingly-nice exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei and her sick body, I mean for Gods sake she's got a figure that won't quit even in her forties) and with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood, annoyingly overwrought and bitchy as usual), but neither really works.
Darren Aronofsky took a daring gamble on this film, and I for one think it paid off handsomely (well, in a way; I have rarely seen such a grim, ugly, depressing world as the one inhabited by Randy and his comrades). He always was a director of the intimately personal - the icky, even. Occasionally there's beauty underneath, but more often it's a descent into degradation, madness, and blood. I am still a major fan, even if I don't think I got THE FOUNTAIN in the way it was intended.
Also, I found myself with tender feelings for real-life "garbage wrestler" Necro Butcher, thanks to his unfailing politeness out of the ring. In it, he does major, cringe-inducing structural damage to Randy the Ram. What a world!
December 22 2010, DVD, home living room, Netflix
A great showcase for the considerable acting chops of one Mr. Mickey Rourke, and a Hollywood-glamor-inaccurate view of the world of professional wrestling, and what becomes of a champion once he's in his fifties, broke down, had the brains beaten out of him, alone in the world and broke, and yet has nothing else to live for. Sure, Randy the Ram tries to make human connections with a gorgeous, seemingly-nice exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei and her sick body, I mean for Gods sake she's got a figure that won't quit even in her forties) and with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood, annoyingly overwrought and bitchy as usual), but neither really works.
Darren Aronofsky took a daring gamble on this film, and I for one think it paid off handsomely (well, in a way; I have rarely seen such a grim, ugly, depressing world as the one inhabited by Randy and his comrades). He always was a director of the intimately personal - the icky, even. Occasionally there's beauty underneath, but more often it's a descent into degradation, madness, and blood. I am still a major fan, even if I don't think I got THE FOUNTAIN in the way it was intended.
Also, I found myself with tender feelings for real-life "garbage wrestler" Necro Butcher, thanks to his unfailing politeness out of the ring. In it, he does major, cringe-inducing structural damage to Randy the Ram. What a world!