The Wrestler
Mickey goes to the mat over and over and just won’t stay down
Tags: The Wrestler Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on May 8th, 2009
I had been looking forward to The Wrestler long before it debuted theatrically. I was always interested in the story of where these guys are after their glory days in the “squared circle” are over. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch the film in theaters so I waited for the film to arrive on DVD. After losing it (twice) I managed to watch the film and have to say that The Wrestler was immensely enjoyable, heartbreaking and enjoyable.
One simply can’t watch The Wrestler and see the parallels with its star Mickey Rourke. Randy “The Ram” is past his prime, but he still keeps doing what he loves. Splitting his time between a day job and regional wrestling gigs he somehow manages to eek out a living – but just barely (at the beginning of the film Randy is locked out of his trailer because he owes rent).
The conflict comes in that this man is barely able to hold on to what he has, which isn’t much, and his body simply can’t take much more. The spotlight has moved on to younger, more agile and flashy stars, creating further conflicts with the lack of an audience for him to perform for.
I can’t say that Rourke delivers a great acting job in the film, but there is an honesty to his presence and what he brings to the character that would be hard to match by anybody else. The role of Randy is as much physical as it is emotional, and Mickey Rourke captures the character perfectly.
Helping to ground things is the neo-documentary style photography that director Darren Aronofsky chose to use. By using only one or two handheld cameras in a scene almost exclusively we get an immediacy to the events whether they be wrestling matches or conversations in a bar or quiet moments alone. There is a “reality” to the story that gives it greater impact by not having it buried under high production values and apparent endless retakes of a scene.
Also great are the supporting characters, particularly Marisa Tomei as the stripper who is on friendly terms with the title character – struggling to maintain her own professional distance from the client as well as dealing with her own life issues). Filling out the world Randy lives in are the other wrestlers, portrayed by actual wrestlers, most of whom work on the independent circuit themselves.
As for special features, the DVD comes with a really good “making of” featurette that runs about 45 minutes and really does a good job of looking at how The Wrestler was made. We also get a music video for the title song by Bruce Springsteen. Missing, but apparently included on the Blu-ray, was a featurette that included several famous pro-wrestlers in a round table setting talking about the movie.
I didn’t expect to like The Wrestler as much as I did. This is a great character study that goes beyond wrestling and examines continuing to do what you love long past the expiry date. A very good film.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ The honesty conveyed + Interesting story and characters + The "you are there" style the film has |
9.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Not all of the special features on the DVD that are on the Blu-ray (and it has nothing to do with space issues) - Too much happens too quickly giving a slightly unrealistic feel to the overall story and events |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Even if you don't like wrestling there is something here for the viewer. The Wrestler is a great character piece. | |
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Tags: The Wrestler
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on May 8th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
