Much was made of Mickey Rourke’s comeback picture, The Wrestler. I’m going to make some more, as it is an excellent film, but Mickey’s comeback really started with Sin City just to set the record straight. Let’s hope that he can keep up the streak and get pinned to the mat.
Robin Ramzinski (Mickey Rourke) would rather you not know that’s his real name. He’s known as Randy “The Ram” Robinson and was a professional wrestler back in the 1980s. He had action figures and even a video game devoted to his ring persona. He had an ongoing feud with the character the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) and it was played out as patriotic theater and even sold out Madison Square Garden.
Unfortunately, those were the Ram’s glory days and he’s fallen on hard times. He works in the stockroom of a local supermarket and is behind on his rent. He’s enamored with a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). She shares something with Randy since that’s also her stage name and her real name is Pam. She too was once the hot commodity, but age is getting her pushed aside for younger strippers (though Marisa hasn’t got anything to worry about – insert Tex Avery wolf howl here).
Randy performs his wrestling craft at small venues, but during one bout he has chest pains, passes out, and awakens in the hospital. He’s had a heart attack, bypass surgery, and the doctor informs him that he shouldn’t step back into the ring again.
He had agreed to once again challenge the Ayatollah in the ring but his health issues threaten to derail that comeback. He becomes reflective and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachael Wood) and get a better job at the supermarket and ends up working at the deli counter.
Just as his life seems to get back on track he falls back into his old ways and decides that no matter what the health costs that he’s going back to the arena that provided him the most satisfaction, even if that means that he’s going to die trying.
The Wrestler was touted as Mickey Rourke’s comeback film and may well be a boost to his career. He certainly garnered more award nominations that he’s had in a long time, perhaps even in his entire career. He went on to win a BAFTA and Golden Globe for best actor as well as being nominated for an Academy Award and a slew of other awards.
He didn’t win the Oscar but the adulation for his fierce, balls out performance garnered much critical praise and interest in the actor. I argue that Mickey’s resurgence happened in another film that happens to come out on Blu-ray in April, Sin City.
His performance in Sin City was a surprise and proved that the old boy still had some fight left in him as far as acting went. The Wrestler is only a continuation of that resurgence and Rourke well deserved all the kudos and nominations that came from it.
It’s a fearless role that shows a broken man who is worn down by life and dreams of his glory days. That might not be a bit of a stretch since Rourke’s career might parallel The Ram.
The other standout is Oscar winner Marisa Tomei. She also got the nod in the same category as she won before, supporting actress, for her nuanced performance as a stripper also past her prime. Now I’ll have to say that there’s plenty of Marisa on display and past her prime she is not. I’d go on but I’ve sounded like a dirty old man enough.
I’d also say her career resurgence started with another film, Before the Devil Knows you’re Dead, but she’s also getting well deserved praise for The Wrestler.
The world of wrestling is a bit unknown to me. I’m not a fan, but have seen the WWF extravaganzas as my brother was more into the theatric matches than me. Of course, you’ll have those that swear that it’s all for real, but the film shows us the tricks and moves that go on behind-the-scenes before the match.
It’s a carefully coordinated brutal ballet of Grand Guignol and histrionics. The show is as old as time itself as we always have a heroic wrestler challenged a villainous one, hence The Ram versus the Ayatollah. The political ramifications might’ve been more pertinent during The Ram’s 80s heyday, but that area of the world is heating up again.
It’s a brilliant character study film that looks at a segment of society that hasn’t been give much screen time, at least the seedier side of the wrestling business and how it can affect the poor souls that can be chewed up by the entertainment machine.
The Wrestler is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include the 42 minute “Within the Ring” which details the making of the film. You also get the 4 minute “The Wrestler” music video by Bruce Springsteen.
The Wrestler is a comeback for both Rourke and Tomei, not that they’ve gone anywhere. Their nominations were richly deserved and both are on top of their acting game in the film. The film is at times both uplifting and depressing, but it is a knock out.
The Wrestler is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a June 1st release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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