So after several aborted attempts, I finally was able to see The Wrestler last night through Netflix. The Wrestler gained a lot of mainstream attention during awards season thanks to Mickey Rourke's comeback performance. I, of course, had a vested interest in it due to my nearly 20 year love of "sports entertainment".
All of the praise centered around Rourke's portrayal of Randy "the Ram" Robinson is warranted. This is a gritty, emotional, and realistic performance of a professional wrestler who's still out there performing despite the fact that his heyday was 20 years ago. Even though his body is broken down and he's playing in front of only a couple hundred people, he still wants to be out there.
The tragedy of the film is that despite opportunities to live a normal life outside of the ring, he cannot help but toss it all aside in favor of continuing to wrestle. In theory it works, but I felt like the film could have done so much more to emphasize why this would be a difficult decision for someone like The Ram. Near the end of the film, he gives a speech where he tells the fans that he continues to do this for all of them, yet there are not enough scenes which show the fans reciprocity. They had opportunities to show fans' appreciation of the pain Randy puts himself through, but didn't capitalize on them. Scenes involving Randy wrestling or attending autograph signings are either too short or focus on other aspects of the story.
Perhaps being so closely connected to pro wrestling was a detriment for me watching this film. Because I am so familiar with the industry, the film didn't really reveal anything new to me. All it did was depict the rise and fall of a wrestler and I've unfortunately seen that all too often in real life to appreciate it here. I give director Darren Arrenofsky credit for accurately portraying the industry from the wrestler's perspective, but he didn't show enough from the fan's side of thing to make Randy's desire to perform understandable. Yes, those independent shows may draw small crowds, but the people that attend them are die-hard fans who want to continue watching their idols perform.
Despite being called The Wrestler, the film spends a lot of time outside of the ring. We see Randy attempt normalcy through his relationship with a stripper (Marissa Tomei) and his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). The subplot with his daughter isn't very developed, but does enough to establish how Randy continually puts his career before his her. The more interesting part of the story is Randy's relationship with Tomei. Tomei, despite being naked for the majority of her screen time, turns in an excellent performance that makes you just as interested in what will happen to her by the end of the film. The film does a very good job of creating parallels between their lives and showing the difficulties they have of breaking free of their jobs. I have no problem with Tomei receiving a nomination for her role here; a performance that's certainly more Oscar-worthy than My Cousin Vinny, which she actually won for.
One final point I'll make is in regards to the overall look of the film. On one hand, I credit Arronofsky for giving this film a gritty look as I feel it sets an appropriate tone for the film. However, that grittiness made it difficult to see and appreciate some of the smaller part of the film. For example, after a hospital stay Randy receives a note from the promoter, yet you could barely read it. Something like that could have gone a long way to creating that emotional tie Randy has to the profession, but the audience doesn't get a good chance to appreciate it. I'm sure if I went back I could see what it said, but that kind of defeats the purpose.
I'll recommend the film based on the strong performance by Rourke. He absolutely steals the show with his portrayal of Randy the Ram. It's nice that he was given this chance to remind the world of his talent as an actor. And I shudder to think how this film would have been had Nicholas Cage, who was originally set to play the role, played The Ram. I would be interested to hear from someone who isn't a pro wrestling fan and see how they react to this film. It very well could be that this film works on a completely different level for them. As for me, the film is too tragic to be enjoyable, yet not tragic enough to make me empathatic. A solid film, but I was certainly hoping for more. Grade: B+
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