He just keeps going...

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2011)

If you are familiar with Darren Aranofsky's previous work, the visual style of "The Wrestler" is rather disarming; I was surprised to find the film was shot hand-held, with only occasional scenes in which the camera remains completely stationary. This gives the whole film an energy, which you might expect with the inevitable action scenes, but is really quite fresh when it comes to what happens outside of the ring.
Given how much craft we're used to seeing on the screen when it comes to this director, you would never guess this is by the man responsible for "The Fountain". Here, we get a lot of scenes where it does not feel like much has been planned so far as camera angles or technical craft is concerned. Takes have been left untouched in the editing process, and the camera is often simply following Rourke's character, "The Ram", opening up the room the characters are in, and letting the performances be the star. With all this taken into account, it is fair to say that "The Wrestler" displays the least directing talent from Aranofsky, but only in that you really feel he has put his 'director ego' aside, and has trusted the film to work this way.
The draw of the film is the human-ness of it, the emotion, the simple story of a wrestler who was once at the top of his game, has long since fallen, and who is now trying to reconcile his wrecked relationship with his daughter, and find some sort of happiness outside of the ring. To have messed around with artifice would have somehow detracted from the soul of the film, which is the events on screen and quite simply, the acting.
That said, there is some subtle musical scoring from Clint Mansell, which is sparse, but it is really great when it delivers. The actors had not met before filming some of their scenes, so there was a real sense with the heaviest moments in the film that there had been no rehearsal; they are raw, improvised to some degree, and allowed to be as natural as they can be. Evan Rachel Wood, who I developed quite an admiration for when I saw "Thirteen", gives it all, and whether you agree with her choices and actions, or not, it doesn't take away from her believability one bit. Isabella Rossellini is unrecognisable as Joe Pesci's girlfriend in "My Cousin Vinny"; she is subtle and natural as the stripper with whom "The Ram" wants to develop some relationship beyond that of a customer.
"Witness the resurrection of Mickey Rourke", they said. Much was made of the physical performance, but I would suggest this wasn't the stretch many imagined; Rourke was a boxer and is not unfamiliar with the gym environment. The real strength of his acting here is in playing the man. This film reminds you that before he threw it all away, he was a great screen actor and there is no doubt that this, strangely, is the role his life has dictate that he play. It could only be Rourke for the role of "The Ram". When he first received the script, he was disappointed, because as a boxer he had always looked down on wrestling, but he asked Aronofsky to allow him to make it personal, to change the character's lines to reflect his own experiences: his dialogue in the film are things he has said, the situations are ones he has been in, and you can really sense that in a genuine and heart rending performance. When "The Ram" makes his speech (you know it when you see the film), it is not "The Ram", it is Mickey Rourke. I am very glad to see him given the opportunity to make a comeback, and I look forward to seeing him move forward and make the most of what most professionals don't get, a second chance! It is quite right to say you DO NOT have to be particularly keen on wrestling to enjoy the film, as it is far more about the story of the man than his work in the ring, much like "Raging Bull" not being about boxing, or "Remember The Titans" not being an American football film. It should still be stressed, however, that due to the nature of the filmmaking and some of the content, this may not appeal to everyone, but if you want to see Rourke giving an unexpectedly wonderful performance, or you're an Aranofsky fan, it's definitely a must! Very oddly, I would say don't expect to enjoy it simply on the basis you're a wrestling fan, as that is not necessarily going to be the case.
I admire the film for venturing into the murky waters of drug and steroid use, that it didn't shy away from the grittier side of the lifestyle these athletes choose, and I raise my hat to Aronofsky for how he chose to close it; the final scene is definitely a highlight of the movie. It is also one from which you get more beautiful detail and moving performance than you expect, if you're watching it closely and not concentrating more on your pizza. In this whole final scene, there are a few moments that really got to me, just one being when we hear his music after a pause, calling to him. And just watch Rourke, you get to see him fly in this closing scene! Together with Mansell's score, which I mentioned earlier, it makes for a stunning bit of cinema.
If I have any complaint, it is only that I would have liked to have seen more scenes that developed the relationships between the people further, and told a bit more of an elaborate story in this area, because it is in these scenes I do feel the film is at its strongest and most memorable! But this is a small qualm overall.