Feb 18 2009
The Wrestler
A film review by iChef Swett.
The first thing I’ll tell moviegoers is that The Wrestler is not a feel-good movie. Though there are moments of humor and joy interspersed between the gritty plot and its rich cast of characters.
If you are like me and have grown nauseatingly tried of the same old formulaic bubble gum romantic comedies (boy meets girl – boy does something dumb and loses girl – boy does something good and wins girl back), and you long for something with more spirit and meaning, something a bit more raw but still with a whole lot of heart, then look no further.
Speaking of formulas – prior to seeing this film one might suspect a typical washed up underdog plot whose title character takes a couple wrong turns before turning it all around in a cinema noir dramedy. But one would be very wrong. The recipe is more like Raging Bull meets Sunday Night Smackdown, with a little bit of the Passion of the Christ mixed in.
As the name implies, it is not really a film about wrestling so much as it is a film about a wrestler. An aging wrestler realizing retirement whose made a lifetime of mistakes and is now just trying to get by and perhaps atone for some of his sins.
From the moment the film opens with the heart pounding drums of Bang Your Head by Quiet Riot, we are drawn into the turbulent world of Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson (Mickey Rourke).
Ram, a pro wrestling star of the 1980’s who at the height of his popularity had his own character in a Nintendo wrestling game, is now a washed up has-been living in poverty somewhere in Pennsylvania.
Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is brilliant in the first few scenes, not letting you see any close-up shots of Ram’s face for a good 5 minutes into the picture. He keeps the camera deliberately on but “off” his main character; shooting Ram instead from behind, from the ground, and on dark lit sets. By making you wait and only teasing with glimpses of the man and myth, he manages to build up intrigue and interest, forcing you to become more emotionally invested in his protagonist’s journey early on.
Randy (Mickey) scrapes by on a meager living from selling autographs at the local American Legion Hall for $8.00 each, taking odd jobs like slicing meat at the deli counter, and performing in small scale wrestling gigs set in dimly lit halls before a few hundred blood thirsty snarling men.
Sidelined permanently by health problems and barely able to pay his own rent, Randy attempts to make a go of normal life. He finds temporary satisfaction in lap dances from his lone confidant stripper (Marisa Tomei) and a second chance at a possible relationship with the daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) he abandoned years ago. While trying to keep it on the straight and narrow, always in the background lurks the temptation of fame, excess, and possible death should he return to his true calling.
During a lap dance, Cassidy (Marisa) tells Ram that he looks like Jesus after seeing the tattoo of Jesus on his back. Cassidy quotes the Passion of the Christ from the scene where Jesus was suffering merciless beatings at the hands of the Roman soldiers. “He was one tough dude,” Ram replies.
From here we are transported into the glittery sometimes brutal world of Wrestling. I admit I’ve never been much of a wrestling fan and never could tell how much of it was real and how much was fake. In this portrayal the answer becomes clear when Ram endures a gory host of wounds in a hardcore wrestling match that are inflicted by a smorgasbord of shattered glass, barbed wire, and a staple gun while bleeding profusely for the audience’s lust and enjoyment. The parallels between the character Randy Robinson and the son of man (suffering at the hands of men) are muted but distinct.
The portrayal of battered fighter Randy ”The Ram” Robinson was not a far stretch for Mickey Rourke who himself was a boxer prior to becoming an actor and even returned to boxing at the height of his film career when he shocked everyone and disappeared, working the amateur and eventually professional boxing circuit for 5 years. During that time Mickey sustained a number of injuries including a broken nose, split tongue, and a compressed cheekbone. All of which may have led to his altered facial appearance.
Physically, Mickey seems to have transformed his body for this role as well. So much so that there has been speculation about whether he had any “help” enhancing his body for the film. When asked this question in an interview Mickey denied the use of steroids or other growth hormones responding, “I did some stuff. You wouldn’t classify it as steroids, but I did some heavy duty supplements.” For the physical transformation alone, I think Mickey should win the Oscar.
Marisa Tomei was also acknowledged by the Academy and is up for the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of Cassidy, the stripper with the heart of a poet who just wants to move her son to Trenton and give him a better life. Cassidy isn’t quite a friend or a love interest. Randy is her regular “customer” with whom she has something in common. She is a woman who understands what it’s like to be aging in a profession where looks matter and your body is your business.
Clad with tattoos and nipple rings, male audience goers will enjoy watching Marisa Tomei give lap dances and gyrate up and down the stripper pole. In a courageous film choice, playing that of a single middle aged mother stripping to make ends meet, she not only makes the character work, she looks terrific and refreshing as a naturally beautiful actress with no evidence of cosmetic augmentations or enhancements. Something seriously lacking in today’s cinematic industry.
Trying to help Randy find himself again, Cassidy urges him to get in touch with his estranged daughter Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood. I have been a big fan of Evan’s since the late 1990’s television series Once and Again with her sensitive portrayal of a young daughter dealing with her parents divorce. Her time on screen in the Wrestler is brief but highly affecting, she gives a heart wrenching and poignant performance.
In one emotion packed scene Randy (Mickey) is talking to Stephanie (Evan) at the beach where he used to take her as a little girl, and acknowledges that he can’t ask for forgiveness or change the past:
“I’m an old broken down piece of meat and I deserve to be all alone. I just don’t want you to hate me.”
Randy the “Ram” Robinson is a role that Mickey Rourke was born to play. Every inch of his ripped muscles, bashed up face, and survivor’s spirit provide the landscape for this story which at its heart is about how far down someone can sink from where they began. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are impressive in their own right, complimenting the rough exterior and violence of the film with scenes that are alternately tender, heartbreaking, and real.
In the end, the Wrestler isn’t a film about wrestling (though fans will enjoy the decadence and flare) and despite the attachments to other characters, I don’t think it’s a film about relationships with others; it’s about the relationship we have with ourselves. It’s about self worth: being true to yourself and holding onto that until the bitter end.
It’s about the struggle to resist the dark forces and inner demons that threaten to lead us down the wrong road. A universal struggle we can all relate to, on some level. It’s about second chances and the choices that we make because it’s who we are – and how sometimes, no amount of love or redemption can change that.
