A legendary performance in a dirty, gritty film

Rating: 8/10 (22 February 2009)

Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is an aging wrestler who has seen better days. He was a huge star in the 1980s, but is merely reliving his glory days through the independent circuit now. He still has his fans, but things are obviously not the same as they were. He is relegated to living in a shoddy trailer home he can barely afford, and his only real emotional connection is through a stripper, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) he has to pay in order to talk to.
To say that this is Rourke's comeback film is an understatement. This film is a resurrection. He was barely recognizable under all the makeup and special effects wizardry in his excellent performance in Frank Miller's Sin City, and he is almost as unrecognizable here without the makeup. He transforms himself into The Ram, and makes a fool out of anyone that said he could never pull off a great performance again. This performance is the stuff of legend, and is almost miraculous in how it was pulled off.
Rourke plays the character with just enough desperation and heartbreak it needs. Sure, it helps that the character is so close in ties to what Rourke had become, but giving it that personal touch gives the film a certain aura of authenticity that it needs to truly be believable. If the filmmakers had picked someone else, it is doubtful they could have given this role the heart and intensity that Rourke does. He knows this character, and he puts an immense amount of effort into bringing him to life. Watching him prepping for a match, coming out of a match as a bloody mess, sitting at a "convention" with his aged memorabilia, or just seeing him attempt to be a part of regular society is just heartbreaking. He looks and feels alienated, and seeing this look on the hulking face of Rourke gives the film and the character a whole new meaning. This is someone who had it all, threw it away and now has to deal with the consequences. But fortunately enough, the outlook is a whole lot more positive for Rourke than it is for The Ram.
But not all the praise for this miraculous transformation should go to Rourke.
Darren Aronofsky does just as much, if not more to make this film as heartbreakingly real as he does. The amount of personal devotion to this film is amazing. Along with Cinematographer by Maryse Alberti and Editor Andrew Weisblum, Aronofsky has created a down and dirty independent picture about a down and dirty business. It is gritty and unflinching when it comes to portraying the risks wrestlers go through to provide blood-thirsty fans a piece of entertainment for the night. And these are not even the types found in the more commonly seen WWE-style matches on television. These are the amateur circuits, where anything goes and the money made is not always worth it. The low angled shots and filthy atmospheres are presented with such a look that you may wonder if you are not actually watching a documentary. It is that real, and that authentic looking.
Sometimes, the film gets so real that it may be hard to take. I know I grimaced more than once at the gritty way Aronofsky shot the matches we see early on in the film. A weapons-laden match I would have clamored for as a kid looks downright disgusting and vile now. The film is laden with these sorts of in-your-face gruesome shots, but it shows the reality of what this lifestyle is like and the pains these people have to put up with in the name of entertainment. The reality is painful, and just terrifying in some instances. And made all the worse by the knowledge that this film is based in reality and is not entirely fictional.
While there are many supporting characters, the only ones who get any real time to do anything are Tomei and Wood. Tomei is great in her role, and continues to prove that My Cousin Vinny was not a fluke. Her character is going through the same has-been mentality that Rourke's is, and you can see the saddened, sullied look in her face throughout the film. Her character craves more, but is unfortunately stuck in a rut she cannot get out of. She is clearly overshadowed by the powerhouse Rourke is, but she holds her own anyway. Wood on the other hand, is merely just good. Many of her films have been about misunderstood and ignored children, but her heart does not seem to be totally into this role. She gets very little screen time, and much of it is highly emotional, but she just does not have the chops to complement Rourke. She has done much better work in the past.
The film is also dragged down by a lengthy running time. This is a blazingly paced movie, but scenes that come late in the film feels misplaced, and almost entirely unneeded. We understand The Ram from the moment the movie starts; we do not need even more additional tidbits. It borders on overkill, and frequently feels a bit draggy. It is a problem that has plagued many movies from 2008, but while it does not destroy the film like it does in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it does not help it much either.
The film is far from perfect, but is an excellent nonetheless. Rourke's performance is nothing short of amazing. If he had not proved his worth as an actor before, he has more than proved himself now. This is memorable and legendary work that will not soon be forgotten.
8/10.