With the release of Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky has successfully made people care about ballet. He did the same thing last year with The Wrestler. Aronofsky is known for his art house perspective of film making. I love his films and cannot wait for his take on the new Wolverine movie. It will be his first mainstream studio "should be blockbuster". I remember the hooplah surrounding The Wrestler and the comeback of Rourke. But beyond that it is what it is. A brilliant movie about the paths we choose and how they affect every inch of us. This film follows Randy "The Ram", a once on top of the world wrestler who has nothing to show for it, and the struggle he faces in giving up the only thing he has known. As a former WWE wrestler myself, I understand the struggle he must deal with. His life is in shambles. He is trying to juggle road gigs that pay very little for the amount of abuse he endures, His day job as the meat man at a local grocery store, trying to mend his failed relationship with his now grown daughter he abandoned, and to top it all of he has a crush on a stripper, who wants nothing to do with him outside the club. Talk about dynamic. The story is so real, and brilliant. Marisa Tomei is the stripper mentioned earlier. She gives a great performance and she shows her cans in several scenes, which is just an added bonus to the already masterful film. Ram was a superstar, but was unwise about it. He lives in a crap trailer, has no one in his life, still wrestles for the occasional crowd consisting of a couple hundred people. He seems ok with his choices until he really must make a decision. Health problems, plus mental problems are going to be his demise. Nominated for both Best Picture and Best Actor and winning neither was tough. It deserved both, but I am not going to disagree with the actual winners. Sean Penn took Best Actor for Milk. REALLY?!? and Best Pic went to Slumdog Millionaire which I don't have an opinion. Either way The Wrestler is an awesome flick that if you've seen, you know why. If you Netflix'd it and let it sit on the counter for 3 weeks, you have missed out. You know who you are. It is so much fun to watch and shot perfectly. I enjoy it every time I watch it and I don't think it'll get old. Never being a Rourke fan, I was glad to see him get a second shot and not squander it.
NBM rates The Wrestler - Phenomenal
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You were a wrestler?
ReplyDeleteYeah he was a wrestler. but when his weight class consisted of only 10-12 yr old girls, he had to leave his shoes on the mat. Kind of sad.
ReplyDeleteLets just remember that the only reason I returned it was so you could abuse my Netflix account and get in the Masters of the Universe for your review. See how that works out for you next time.
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