Ram Jam of a film. (The Wrestler (DVD))

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	The Wrestler (DVD)
Date:	10/08/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plot, acting, emotion.

Disadvantages: None.

The Wrestler (2008) (2009 in UK).

Cert. 15.

I have been wanting to watch this film for a while and whilst it has been on my 'list' I have watched it rack up nomination after nomination and win numerous awards so I have to say, when sitting down finally to see it, there was some trepidation as to whether it was worth all the hype.

For a start, I am not a great fan of Mickey Rourke, especially after all his plastic surgery that has lefty him looking somewhat grotesque. That being said, any 56/57 year old guy that can get his body into the shape he has for this movie demands some respect.


~~The Plot~~

What we have is a wrestler, Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, who was big in the 80's, when pay was not so big, struggling on today, fighting in smaller and smaller venues, eking out a living with his 'performances' (they are not real fights), getting by (just) by selling old video's, autographing old programmes etc.

We see how he needs to keep taking painkillers, steroids and regular suntan sessions to retain a shadow of his former self. He lives in a trailer and spends most of his time hauling himself from venue to venue, struggling to make ends meet. His comfort comes from attending lap dancing clubs and he yearns for a relationship with his grown up daughter who he has not seen for years.

Randy then has a heart attack, due to the steroids and the punishing regime, is told that he cannot wrestle or take steroids again, has a bypass...and then, as if the movie is not depressing enough, it gets darker.

Really, to say any more will spoil the plot as really, in my opinion, this is the point where the movie starts to 'matter' and the relationships that Rourke's character has from this point on, including the relationship with himself, is really what the movie is all about.


~~Acting/directing~~

Having never heard of this director before, nor seen any of his stuff I have nothing to compare it with. I would say his style is quite Mike Lee, or Ken Loach like, it is gritty and almost documentary like. The shots are poignant and often 'pan' for long moments so that the viewer can take it all in.

There is one particular shot/scene which says so much about the film in general and the directors style. Rourke's character is sitting in a near empty hall, along with other aging wrestlers; they are peddling their videos, autographs and memorabilia to wrestling fans, those that have bothered to turn up. Rourke looks around the room at the other wrestlers seated behind the tables and sees, men in wheelchairs, men coughing, men well past their best and we feel the sadness emanating from Rourke and the realisation that this is his lot....brilliant and very sad.

The action shots (wrestling) are handled really well and we get the sense that there is little CGI and lots of effort gone into both the directing and the acting.

Rourke is a good actor for this part and whilst the other characters are important, they only serve to highlight his role. The role is a depressing one of that there is no doubt and I cannot think of anyone else who could of played it, with perhaps the exception of Sylvester Stallone. Rourke skulks from scene to scene, desperate for decent human contact, putting on a show not only in the ring, but in his life in general. The one real friendship he develops is with a lap dancer/stripper and in it's reality it is two damaged people trying to connect. Marisa Tomei, who plays the stripper, Cassidy is the only other actor worthy of note in the film, and whilst we see him play against his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), really it is only Tomei that comes close to Rourke's character, both in the movie and in terms of acting.

Rourke is often mono syllabic, dark and brooding, though comes to life when his character is given some attention, Tomei is hard but vulnerable and between them we see so many near misses in terms of making the relationship work it is painful, as is much of the movie.


~~~Final Thoughts~~~

This really is a good movie. We see the wrestling game exposed somewhat, and even though we knew really, it is enlightening to see. The sadness throughout the film is really evident and whilst depressing, we also see the glimmers of humanity and kindness that give us hope for Randy, and this is the point. We hope for him, where he has lost hope, the director lets us know that some things are possible, yet unlikely and we see carcrash moments over and over again.

The uncanny commonality between Rourke resurrecting his acting career and the character he plays resurrecting himself is so poignant as to make this alone worth watching the film for. Yet, this film is so much more than that; great fight scenes, great human insight, great expose, and wonderful, minimalist acting.

Depressing yes, must see? Oh yes, without a doubt. Rourke steals the show and I was left feeling afterwards that maybe, just maybe, this will be a future classic, and in my opinion, it deserves to be. Five stars and worth every one of them.

Summary: The wrestler.