THE WRESTLER (B-)This film is not main stream whatsoever, which is why I had to go all the way out to The Uptown Theater in Minneapolis to see it. The movie is starring Mickey Rourke as an aging wrestler named Randy "The Ram" Robinson. "The Ram" was a big time wrestling star as a young man, but now is old and can't let go of his early years of glory. The Ram is barely making any money working small wrestling shows in school gymnasiums, and at a supermarket as a deli counter attendant. The basis of the film is to show how Randy the Ram can do no right, and how terrible his life has become. This is definitely a film someone who watches or watched wrestling would enjoy. It shows the raw side of the sport. The brutal toll a body takes from the "fake" fights. This movie had a lot of positive aspects, but not enough to save it from itself.
The first positive is named Marisa Tomei. She is our supporting character who plays an aging stripper. She seems to have to similar life experience as The Ram. Both are trying to compete against people who are half their age, and both start to realize the difficultly of that task. However, Marisa Tomei shows no aging what so ever...and my, oh my she looks fantastic naked. She also did an excellent job acting her part and really making you feel for her character. (she is nominated for a golden globe for this role) Rourke does a fine job acting his part as well. He plays the role of a career EFF up very well, which apparently isn't to far from his actual life. The film was directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) but I was personally disappointed with the direction in this film. This film was so boring at times I was questioning if Aronofsky was watching what he was filming, or if anyone thought to edit the movie. So many scenes just following The Ram around in his daily boring life as just plain ole loser Randy. I understand the need to show how bad his life has become because of his irresponsibility and his loser mentality towards life besides wrestling. But seriously...I was so bored watching some of these scenes that really seemed to show the same thing, this guys a loser. OVERKILL!!
The bright spot in the film is when Randy tries to mend his relationship with the daughter he left as a child. The dialogue, story, and directing are all very good during this point of the film. But with the theme of him being a loser, it doesn't last. The ending of the film is the same, and really was not very good in my opinion. This film has the same depressing feeling as Requiem for a Dream, but is no where near as good. All in all, good characters. Decent script. Poor directing and editing. This film was waaaaaaay to long for what it had to offer as a whole...wait for the DVD.
